Here, There, and Somewhere In Between
by mortimorana
Summary: Mr. Weasley has won a thousand Galleons and is taking the family to Egypt! What adventures can Marigold Rosenberg get up to in another country? (Takes place between Marigold Rosenberg and the Blood Stained Walls and Marigold Rosenberg and the Grim Encounter *book 3*) Art by Tumblr user Soldrawss.
1. Official Business

**Official Business**

_Dear Charlie,_

_I know you are super busy, so I'm not going to freak out if it takes you a while to respond to this… but I need to talk to you. I know I have people here who I can talk to… but they aren't you. I need __**you**__._

_I need to tell you about what Harry, Neville and I went through on our suicide mission to rescue Ginny. So many things happened, and I'm not ready to talk about some of them yet. I will eventually, but I don't think I can even try to talk about those things until I work through this. I can't do it all, Charlie, and this is the easiest of the things to talk about… as super messed up as it is._

_ I need to tell you what happened to Professor Lockhart._

_It was headline news when Gilderoy Lockhart died. It was on the front page of the Daily Prophet for weeks and I'm sure you heard about it even all the way in Romania. I'm not really supposed to talk about this, because everything was agreed upon before I even left the hospital wing, but I __**need**__ to talk about it._

_The stories are a lie. _

_Professor Lockhart didn't die trying to rescue Ginny. He didn't die sacrificing himself so we could all get away from the Heir of Slytherin. He didn't die trying to heroically save Neville and Harry from the basilisk. He died pulling my hair and jabbing my own wand into my throat. _

_I know that I wrote to you shortly after Colin Creevie was attacked. I was freaking out because your future dragon apprentice had been attacked, remember? I told you about how the school was taking every precaution it could to make sure Muggleborns were safe, but there was something I didn't tell you..._

_So, full confession, Harry, Neville, and I were looking into the Chamber of Secrets the moment we found out about it. Over the year, we probably broke about a thousand school rules… but we were reaching an end. We had just put together the last piece of the puzzle and were on our way to solve the mystery when Ginny was taken._

_We were on our way to solving everything when Professor McGonagall told everyone to go back to their dorms immediately. Being us, we decided to hide in a broom cupboard instead. The teachers convened in the corridor ahead of us… exactly where we had been going before hiding. We heard the news first hand. I felt like my heart had been stomped on. Why Ginny? It made no sense. She was a pure blood, not a Muggleborn. _

_Lockhart passed by us to meet with the other teachers. You see, Lockhart had been bragging all year about knowing where the Chamber was and how to kill the monster inside. So, when the teachers collectively told him his time to shine was finally upon him, I knew I had to do something… this was __**Ginny **__we were talking about. _

_I couldn't just sit in the common room doing nothing when I knew so much. I could tell that Harry and Neville felt the same, so the three of us snuck out of the common room and made our way to Lockhart's office. When we got there, he was __**running away! **__Yeah you heard me right! The great Gilderoy Lockhart, the man who had single handedly saved villages from monsters was running away from a chance to save my damn sister!_

_In his haste to pack and tell us why he couldn't help us, he accidentally confessed that his books were a sham. Instead of laughing it off or trying to correct himself, he told us the whole story; that he had stolen the memories of the people in his books and wrote said books as if he was the one who had done all their heroic work! _

_We weren't that shocked, he had been a lousy teacher after all… but he turned on us. Out of nowhere he threatened to obliterate our memories. He threatened to do to us what he did to those poor brave people whose glory had been stolen. _

_I was the one who disarmed him. The window in his office was open and I threw his wand through it. _

_It was my idea to bring him along with us but I have no idea __**why**__ I wanted to bring him along. He was a liability. Everyone knows that you don't bring liabilities with you. Especially when you have to jump into a hole behind a sink and slide through sewer pipes so long that when you get out you are a million miles under the school! I should have just left him._

_Once we were under the school, things were instantly out of control. There was a scuffle and Lockhart stole Neville's wand. He tried to hex me and I tried to disarm him, and in all the commotion there was a cave in. When the dust had settled Harry was behind an avalanche of rocks blocking him from coming back and blocking us from going forward with him and Lockhart was unconscious._

_Neville and I were trying to move the rocks and I should have been paying more attention to Professor Lockhart, but I was freaking out about how everything had gone wrong. I was worried about Ginny and I had no idea if Harry was going to even get to her._

_Lockhart woke up without me noticing and snatched my wand out of my hand. He grabbed my hair to keep me from moving and my own wand, stolen from me, was digging into my throat. He used my wand to petrify Neville so he wouldn't try anything, and then he marched us out of the little clearing. _

_He was holding onto my hair to keep me from moving and my own wand was digging into my throat so tight that it was making it hard to breathe. He kept muttering to himself about using me to get to Harry and how he was going to spin the story so that he was a hero when he got back… I was scared he was going to do something worse than erase our memories._

_I knew that if he got to Harry then it would be over for us so I tried to barter with him, but it didn't work. I think it actually made him angrier.. He basically told me to stop talking or he wouldn't need to use me as bait for Harry anymore. _

_We roamed around the pipes for what felt like an eternity. He kept pulling my hair, and if I made a wrong move he would jab me with my wand. Eventually, we made it to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. The basilisk tumbled onto the ground and Lockhart froze in shock. I was able to get free of him, but my hair ripped out and I snatched my wand back just in time to… to see… _

_I watched him die. _

_He died with chunks of my hair tightly gripped in his hand. _

_Neville keeps telling me it wasn't my fault, but __**it was.**__ It was __**my fault**__ he was down there in the first place, Charlie. If I hadn't pushed him along with us, he would still be alive! I could have easily tied him to a chair or something after I took his wand. He could have stayed where it was safe! He didn't have to die!_

_Watching him die wasn't even the worst thing that happened down there, but I can't think about __**that**__ yet because I can barely wrap my head around __**this**__._

_I can't sleep… I can't eat… I had Mrs. Weasley put a charm on my room so nobody in the house hears it when I wake up screaming in the middle of the night… If I'm reacting like this while trying to cope with Lockharts death, what am I going to do when I start trying to cope with what happened the rest of the night?_

_I'm not managing things Charlie. I'm lost and I don't know what to do. I miss the days when being angry at an infant was something that made me question what type of a person I am. Now I know… I'm the type of person that has blood on their hands. _

_I feel like I should have been punished. I mean, he died, Charlie. Someone died because of me and it was all just brushed under the table. I should be in trouble. I should be expelled. I don't know… that's just it, __**I don't know.**_

_I just want to feel okay again. _

_With love, _

_Marigold_

Marigold looked down at the letter in her hands and fought the urge to crumple it up like the hundred others sitting in her wastebasket. Instead, she folded it up and put it on her desk to be mailed out in the morning. She stared at her hands for a moment. If she let herself think about it too much, she would actually imagine blood on them.

Marigold quickly schooched her chair out and went to the bathroom down the hall. She washed her hands in freezing cold water and tried to ignore the rolling of her stomach.

"Washing your clean hands again?"

Marigold jumped and in an attempt to brace herself on the sink, her wet hands slipped and she toppled to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Ginny said, rushing into the bathroom to help her up.

"It's okay," Marigold said, beginning to giggle. She flicked water at Ginny who just rolled her eyes and stood back up.

"Come on," Ginny said, "mum's called for dinner three times now."

Marigold cursed and got up. "I'll be down in two minutes."

"Yeah yeah, I'll let her know. Percy is still holed up in his room doing god knows what, so you'll probably beat me down, though."

"Thanks Ginny," Marigold said, wiping her hands on a green towel. "For snapping me out of it again."

Ginny stared at her for a moment before smiling. "We got each other's backs, Marigold," she said, before disappearing.

Marigold heard her climbing the stairs and shook her head. She finished drying her hands then climbed down the stairs for dinner.

A week passed and Marigold was still having a tough time adjusting. It helped that Ginny popped up whenever she needed her, but it was still hard. Ginny seemed to be coping better than she was… but not by much. Marigold figured it was only a matter of time before the two of them couldn't ignore the erumpent in the room.

In between screaming herself awake and waiting for the other shoe to drop, Marigold was spending her days doing odds and ends around the Muggle town nearby. It was nice to be away from magic for a while, and as awful as she felt about thinking so, being away from magic also meant being away from all her responsibilities.

Unfortunately, mowing lawns, picking weeds and going about other miscellaneous tasks were rather boring, and Marigold more often than not found her mind wandering.

So, while her nights were tormented by the memory of Tom Riddle and Gilderoy Lockhart, her days were plagued by the last conversation she had had with Headmaster Dumbledore. Time and time again, Marigold thought about what more Dumbledore wasn't telling her. Thinking back, he had really told her very little. What more could she not know about, and wouldn't it be better if she did know?

One morning, a few days after sending out letters to her fiends, Marigold woke up gasping for breath, and covered in sweat. She curled up under the covers and just cried. She was crying so often these days that her eyes were constantly puffy and hard to see out of. She didn't want to get out of bed most days.

Taking deep breaths, she finally slowed her heartbeat back to normal. She hoisted herself up and out of bed, knowing that if she waited any longer she wouldn't move for the rest of the day, or at least until Ginny quietly knocked on the door and came in to help her out of bed… It had taken Ginny an hour yesterday to convince her to finally get up and another thirty minutes of trying to convince her to get dressed. Marigold slowly got dressed and headed down to the kitchen.

The post arrived after breakfast and Marigold was ecstatic when Mrs. Weasley handed her three letters. Marigold, feeling better than she had in ages, bounded up to her room and flopped down on her bed. She ripped open the letter from Charlie first.

_My dearest Marigold,_

_I would give anything to give you a great big hug. _

_When I got mum's letter that Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets, I was so scared of losing a sister. When I got her second owl, I was prepared for the worst… though nothing could have prepared me for what I read. _

_Ginny was alive and healthy and had been saved by none other than my dearest Marigold. I wanted nothing more than to skip work and come see you, but I knew that you would need time. None of us knew what you or Ginny went through down there, and neither of you were talking. I figured it was only a matter of time before you wrote to me and I didn't want to push you. _

_I had no idea what I was going to read when I got your letter, but again, I prepared for the worst. I still wasn't prepared for your letter. _

_Marigold I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that. I wish I had some advice to give you or something to say to make you feel better, but I have never gone through anything like this. All I can say to you is what I said to you before. __**You are not a terrible person**__. _

_ We all make decisions, Marigold. You were dealing with things nobody should ever have to deal with. I know that you did what you thought was right, and that's all anyone can ever do. You had no way of knowing he would turn on you like that. Nobody could have guessed he would do that. He made his own decisions, Marigold. _

_It wasn't your fault. _

_Every decision that was made that night played a role in what happened, and as far as I can tell you weren't the only one there. Harry made decisions. Neville made decisions. You made decisions. Lockhart made decisions. Every one of you made decisions. Does that make it everyone's fault? Does it make it nobody's fault? I don't have an answer, but I do know that the decisions you made only added to what was going on. _

_It is not your fault he died, Marigold. You are not responsible for every decision that was made. You had a part to play in how the night went, but so did everyone else that was there. _

_It took all of you to rescue Ginny, right? You wouldn't claim to be the only one responsible for saving her, would you? In the same way, it's not fair to you or your sanity to blame yourself for Lockhart's death. It happened, and it's horrible and tragic, but it's not on you. _

_I know it doesn't feel like it now, but I'm sure things will get better. You deserve to heal, not be punished for what happened. If you had been expelled for this, every one of the people who love you would have personally kicked down Dumbledore's door and demanded you go back to school. It is not right to punish someone for something happening that is beyond their control. _

_Those are my thoughts on the matter anyway. Speaking of thoughts… I think you need to talk to someone who knows better than I do about what you are going through. Just like before, I am not trying to brush you off, I just think that someone with shared similar experiences might be able to say the right thing. _

_Harry and Neville might not be the best people to talk to right now… I'm sure they are trying to cope just like you are. The time might come when the three of you are ready, but it's tough to say when that will be. In the meantime, although the two of them experienced the same thing you did, I know another person who has worked through their trauma and could help you. _

_She might not look it, but mum has been through a lot. The fact that she, unlike Harry and Neville, has had time to process a similar experience could make her the perfect person to talk to. She has a much better way with words than I do. I want to help you through this because I love you, but I can only do so much. _

_As always, it's up to you whether you want to talk to her or not. I will always be here for you, Marigold. I will always do my best to help you the best that I can. _

_Sending all my love,_

_Charlie_

Marigold wiped her eyes and held the letter close to her chest as if trying to hug Charlie through the paper. Everything came bubbling to the surface, but instead of tears, she was laughing. She had a long way to go, but Merlin if this didn't make her feel better. She laughed and laughed, thankful once again for the silencing charm on her room. She was positive that if the others heard her uncontrollable giggles they would wrap her up in her bedsheets and carry her off to St. Mungos.

Finally, Marigold put the letter from Charlie down and turned her attention to the other two letters on the bed.

_Marigold,_

_If I have to spend one more minute here I'm going to go mad. The only reason I'm able to write to you is because Uncle Vernon was going nuts with Hedwig being cooped up and making noise._

_They locked up my school supplies again, but I managed to break the lock and grab some books while they were out of the house gloating about Uncle Vernon's new company car! Studying's been keeping me busy at least, but I only grabbed a couple books and I might not get another chance to grab more. To make matters worse, I didn't grab the Potions book so I won't be able to do the essay for Snape._

_Please write back soon or I'll end up losing my mind,_

_Harry_

Marigold didn't doubt him. She opened the letter from Neville last.

_Dear Marigold,_

_Summer is flying by. Can you believe it's already been a week? Dora has grown a lot, but she still acts the same. Gran thinks she's cute, and better than Trevor. I don't know though, I like them both. She got really confused with the Muggle Gameboy Harry got me, and it confused me for a while too, but I finally figured it out. It's really fun!_

_We're going on a trip soon to see my parents. I'll tell them you and Harry say hi. I hope you are having a fun summer and not just mowing lawns like last year. You should find something fun to occupy your time (I also don't mean studying, which I know you are ahead at already)._

_On a more serious note, if your head starts hurting, or you seem to be acting differently, talk to Mr. or Mrs. Weasley, don't keep it to yourself… what you went through can lead to… Well, just talk to someone okay?_

_I can't wait to hear from you,_

_Neville_

Marigold spent the rest of the morning writing back to everyone, then walked down to the little Muggle village to find something to do.

Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Adams, the nice elderly Muggle couple, would have something for her. They always tried to give her something to work on and were always very nice to her. They reminded her of the grandparents she never had but had read about in stories and had longed for.

Three weeks into vacation, Marigold woke up perfectly fine for the first time. Feeling chipper, she decided to go and help Mrs. Weasley with breakfast. Watching Mrs. Weasley cook with magic was fascinating. Marigold couldn't use magic outside of school, so Mrs. Weasley often gave her simple tasks like cutting potatoes, or coming up with dishes to make.

Rubbing her eyes, Marigold walked into the kitchen to see Mr. Weasley hugging a giggling Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley noticed Marigold standing in the entryway and let go of her husband to rush over to Marigold and wrap her in a big hug. Her giggling was very contagious, and even though Marigold had absolutely no idea what was going on, she found herself laughing as well.

"What's going on?" she asked, once Mrs. Weasley had let her go.

"The Daily Prophet has an annual Grand Prize Galleon Draw, and we won!" Mr. Weasley said, excitedly pressing the Daily Prophet into her hands.

"A thousand galleons, and he didn't even tell me he entered!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, beaming.

Marigold's eyes grew wide. A thousand galleons? That was so much money! Marigold looked up from the paper to see Fred and George enter the kitchen, bleary eyed and confused.

"Mum what's going on?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, what's with all the giggling?"

Marigold handed the paper to the two of them and watched as their eyes went from bleary to wide-awake.

"Go get everyone else up, we have a family decision to make!" Mr. Weasley said, pushing the three of them out of the kitchen.

The three of them made a mad dash to the stairs, nearly tripping each other as they raced around the Burrow to wake everyone up and push them downstairs. When everyone was huddled in the kitchen, their hair messy and pajamas still on, Mr. Weasley cleared his throat.

"WE WON A THOUSAND GALLEONS!" he yelled, stretching his arms wide.

Everyone was suddenly wide-awake. Ron's eyes lit up, Ginny started excitedly jumping up and down, and even Percy was smiling.

"I think we should go on a family vacation! When your mother and I visited Bill last Christmas, we had a wonderful time. We knew we had to bring you kids with us someday. Looks like that someday can be now!"

Hoots and hollers erupted through the kitchen, but Marigold felt her heart drop. What was she going to do while they were in Egypt? Surely she couldn't go with them, that would be too much! She couldn't impose on Neville and his grandmother, and Harry's aunt and uncle absolutely wouldn't let her stay there…

"What do you think, Marigold?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Marigold looked up, confused.

"Does Egypt sound good to you? You'll get the chance to finally meet Bill!" Mr. Weasley added.

"You want me to go too?" Marigold asked.

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley said, wrapping her in another hug. "It wouldn't be a _family_ vacation without you too!"

Marigold woke up to a knock on her door early the next morning. Groggy, sweaty, and still half asleep, Marigold opened the door to the beaming face of Mrs. Weasley.

"Up and at 'em, Marigold. We have places to go and people to see," she said excitedly, before bustling back downstairs.

Marigold quickly got ready and went down to the living room where she found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley waiting for her.

"Where are we going?" she asked, grabbing her shoes from Mrs. Weasley.

"We have to go to the Ministry of Magic and fill out some paperwork since we are leaving the country," Mr. Weasley said.

"Is everyone else coming?" she asked.

"No, there's a form for family travel that we can fill out for everyone else, but you will have to fill out separate paperwork, since you have a different last name. I'm sure there's more we will have to do, but I've never been in this situation so I'm not quite sure what the process will be."

Marigold, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley Apparated from the front door of the Burrow to a quiet little alley in the middle of Muggle London. Mr. Weasley led the three of them through the crowded streets until they happened upon a bright red telephone booth.

"We're taking the visitors' entrance today," Mr. Weasley explained motioning for the two of them to go ahead of him into the telephone box.

All three of them crammed into the box and Mr. Weasley dialed several numbers. A cool female voice sounded inside the telephone box, not through the receiver, but as loudly and plainly as though she was crammed in the booth with them.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, here with my wife Molly, and our scholarship student Marigold Rosenberg. We're going to the International Travel and Customs Office to request travel permits."

"Thank you," the voice said. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a click and a rattle, and Marigold watched as something slid out of the metal shoot where coins were usually returned. Mrs. Weasley grabbed two square, silver badges, and handed one to Marigold. _Marigold Rosenberg, International Travel and Customs Office, was_ embossed on it.

The floor of the telephone box shuddered and Marigold jumped as she watched the street around them rise out of view.

"The whole Ministry is underground," Mr. Weasley explained, noticing Marigold's surprise.

Just as soon as they had started moving, they stopped.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," the woman's voice said.

The door to the telephone box sprang open and the three of them spilled out. Marigold felt her jaw drop.

They had stepped into a long and beautiful hall with a highly polished, dark wood floor. The peacock-blue ceiling was inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that were continually moving and changing. The walls on each side were paneled in shiny dark wood and had many gilded fireplaces set into them.

Halfway down the hall was a fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life sized, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Largest of them was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointed up in the air. Marigold imagined his thin mouth opening wide and shook her head.

They joined the throng of witches and wizards carrying parchment and briefcases and looking utterly professional.

They passed a fountain with several coins glittering on the bottom of the tiled pool. A small smudged sign beside it read:

_All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries._

Mrs. Weasley hurried Marigold along and they found themselves crammed into a lift. Marigold looked up at a rather beautiful witch who had ringlet curls and bright green robes. She had a suitcase that was chirping as if it were full of tiny birds.

They got off on level six: Department of Magical Transport, and made their way to an office labeled International Travel and Customs (for Vacation and Business Travel) Office.

The line inside wasn't too long, but there were still several witches and wizards in front of them. Most of them were wearing the traditional robes, but one or two were wearing Muggle clothes like Marigold. There was a young couple ahead of them, they looked maybe a few years older than Charlie, and they were giggling and holding onto each other. Marigold overheard as the couple brightly exclaimed, to a rather bored looking elderly witch behind the counter, that they wanted to go to America because it was their honeymoon. The witch just handed them some papers and told them to fill them out and bring them back.

The three of them slowly inched forward until they were finally at the front of the line. A different witch was behind the counter. She was much younger and had springy brown hair that moved when she talked.

"Hi, I'm Olivia Jamison, where is it that you and your daughter are planning on going to go this summer?" she asked in a chipper voice.

"We, and our other kids, are wanting to go to Egypt," Mr. Weasley said with a smile.

"Are any of your other kids over seventeen?"

"No," Mrs. Weasley answered.

"Okay then, I will need the two of you to fill out these forms here," Olivia said, handing Mr. Weasley two pieces of paper. "And here's another form to fill out for the kids."

"Just out of curiosity, Marigold here," Mrs. Weasley put her hand on Marigold's shoulder as she spoke and smiled down at her, "is a scholarship student at Hogwarts. Headmaster Dumbledore had her placed with us. Is there a separate form she would have to fill out, or can we put her on the one with the other kids?"

"Oh, well, if you have all the appropriate documentation for her then she can go on the form with your other children, of course."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exchanged glances.

"We have a letter from Dumbledore from two summers ago saying that he wants her to stay with us…" Mr. Weasley said, fishing through his robes.

"Do you have anything from the Department of Child Safety and Magical Welfare stating that the two of you have been allowed to take care of her and make decisions regarding her wellbeing, school matters, and medical needs?"

Marigold looked up at Mrs. Weasley. Judging by the quiet eye conversation she was having with her husband, Marigold deduced they didn't have anything like that at all.

"How would we go about doing that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"You will need to go to floor two, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and find either the adoption office, the guardian office, or the custodial office, whichever one suits your needs; they all serve different purposes. They are located in a subdivision of the floor, past the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, all the other offices and hidden in a back-corner way out of the way."

"Right then," Mr. Weasley said.

The three of them thanked Olivia, and turned around and walked out the door, passing by the young couple from before squealing over an approved travel permit.

They crammed back into the lift and got off on the second floor. As they walked through the floor, a lot of witches and wizards said good morning to Mr. Weasley. One or two even congratulated him on the Daily Prophet win.

They passed an office that had a rather small door that looked like one of the broom closets at Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley pointed this one out as his office, and they continued along.

They finally found the door they were looking for, tucked away in the middle of a dimly lit hallway nowhere near any other office on the floor.

"I have worked on this floor for years, and I didn't know this office existed," Mr. Weasley muttered, opening the door.

If Marigold had thought the Department of International Travel had been dingy, it was nothing compared to the Department of Child Safety and Magical Welfare. The floor looked old and smelled like what the Potions classroom at Hogwarts would smell like if all of the bottles on the walls spilled out on the floor. Several more doors lined a short hallway, each somehow smaller than the one to Mr. Weasley's office.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley started talking in hushed voices, and Marigold, not wanting to intrude on the conversation, found a place to sit down. Maybe she would have to stay at the Burrow while the rest of them went to Egypt after all.

Marigold sat for quite a while and tried not to watch as the two adults had their heated discussion. Trying to focus on something other than her mounting stress and shaking hands, Marigold looked around at the walls. All the picture frames were empty. Even their occupants didn't want to be here. Marigold noticed a plaque on the wall in front of her.

**Ministry of Magic**

Department of Child Safety and Magical Wellbeing

Adoption Office: Room 256

Guardianship Office: Room 257

Custodial Office: Room 258

Runaway Tracking Office: Room 259

Care Support and Medical Relief: Room 260

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had stopped talking and made their way over to Marigold.

"I could stay at the Burrow by myself," Marigold said, before either of them could say anything. "I could keep the house clean while you are gone. You know… de-gnome the garden and watch over the place."

"Oh, Marigold, we are going to find a way for you to come with us," Mrs. Weasley said, crouching down in front of Marigold. "We should have known that this was something we would have to do. Dumbledore didn't say anything on the matter, but we should have put together that the Ministry would need to know who is taking care of you."

"Now, Molly and I have a very big decision to make, but we wanted you to be a part of the decision as well," Mr. Weasley said, smiling kindly at Marigold.

Marigold looked at the plaque on the wall across from her again. Marigold felt her head spin. Adoption seemed like a dream! To be a part of a family that she knew loved her seemed unreal, but it was far too much to ask. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had so many children to look after already, and Marigold knew that if she added herself to the mix, that the Weasleys would have a harder time supporting the family. Her scholarship would probably disappear as well. The same problems would occur with guardianship too…

Marigold could feel herself shaking even worse than before. And, as if he could sense Marigold's inner monologue, Mr. Weasley sat down next to her. Mrs. Weasley grabbed her hand and Mr. Weasley looked at his wife for a solid moment before the two of them smiled.

"Whatever decision we make today, we can always revisit this conversation later," he said helpfully.

Marigold messed with her locket, considering. "I think... I think we should go to the Custodial office then, but we should come back here someday… if the offer still stands."

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled, squeezing her hand.

"Right then! Let's get this started!" Mr. Weasley said, grabbing her other hand.

Together, the three of them walked into the Custodial office.

A very tired looking wizard looked up from a roll of parchment. Stacks of papers were piled high on his desk and cluttered every square inch of the office. The wizard was old and had bags under his eyes and a quill behind his ear. He reminded Marigold of Ollivander, if Ollivander had lost his passion decades ago and was running on fumes.

"How can I help you?" he asked, his voice as tired as his face.

"My name is Arthur Weasley, this is my wife Molly, and this here is Marigold." Mr. Weasley shook their hands in a wave, "We have been taking care of her since Dumbledore told us to host her two summers ago."

"Ah, yes, I got word from Dumbledore that you would be coming in." The wizard started rummaging around and knocked over a stack of paper. "I meant to write to you when you never showed, but as you can see, I am swimming in paperwork. Here it is." He grabbed a folder and started flipping through it. "Marigold Rosenberg, Muggleborn, born to Edith and Donald Rosenberg. Sent to reside with Molly and Arthur Weasley at the personal request of Albus Dumbledore.

"I will need you to sign these papers saying that you agree to take care of her while she is attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; that you will make decisions on behalf of Albus Dumbledore and Marigold Rosenberg so that she receives the best care possible to her as the need arises; that you will keep Albus Dumbledore informed on all things pertaining to her care; and finally, that you have been informed that you have the right to terminate your care of Marigold Rosenberg at any time if you find yourselves unable to fulfill any of the duties mentioned to you today.

"This quill is enchanted so that once you have signed, you are legally bound to this document, and therefore, bound to these duties and will suffer the legal consequences if it is found that you haven't followed through with them. If you decide to change your mind or change your care options, you will need to come back through this office."

The old wizard handed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley the quill and each of them signed their name on the parchment in bright indigo ink. After the ink dried, the old wizard grabbed several more documents and explained that they were the official forms that stated that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in charge of Marigold.

After signing every form the old wizard went over before passing to them, the three of them were finally able to leave. The line in the Travel Office had gotten longer, but once they were at the head of the line, it went a lot smoother and their travel permits were accepted.

Marigold and the Weasleys left the Ministry of Magic the same way they came, returning their badges to the disembodied voice. As they walked through the busy streets of London looking for a quiet out-of-the-way place to apparate home, Marigold had a thought.

She paused and Mrs. Weasley nearly ran into her.

"What is it, dear?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"I might be too old, I don't really know the rules, but once I've graduated and I'm no longer just a scholarship student…" she trailed off, not knowing how to ask what she wanted.

The two of them were looking at her intently. Marigold looked at the two of them. They had done so much for her…

Marigold took a deep breath, then asked, "Would it be possible for you to adopt me then? I want to be a part of this family, but I don't want to lose my scholarship either."

Mrs. Weasley looked at her husband, smiling. The two of them surprised her with a hug.

"We would like that very much, Marigold," Mr. Weasley said, and Marigold could feel all her anxiety melting away… they had said yes.


	2. Adventure Awaits

**Adventure Awaits**

The remaining four days leading up to their trip to Egypt were chaotic. Marigold was doing everything she could to scrape together a little extra money for the trip. Sadly, one can only mow a lawn once a week (even Mr. and Mrs. Adams had run out of things for her to do around their house), so she had run out of ideas. That was, until the day before they were set to go, when she got two letters in the mail. One was a letter from Charlie, of course, but the other was a small package from Dumbledore.

Wondering if she would ever get used to getting mail from her headmaster, Marigold walked back up to her room so that she would be away from the prying eyes of the Weasleys. Especially Mrs. Weasley, who seemed especially curious about the package from Dumbledore. Marigold jumped onto her bed and ripped open the letter from Charlie first.

_Dear Marigold,_

_I am so excited for Egypt! Can you believe it's been two years since we have actually been in the same room together? With all the writing it doesn't seem that long. I'll be meeting all of you at the travel agency the day of. Can't wait!_

_See you soon,_

_Charlie_

Marigold agreed, it really didn't feel like it had been so long. She was so excited to see him, she felt she would explode with the feeling. How could it possibly have been _so_ long? Out of all the Weasleys, Charlie had to be the one she got on with the best. Ginny was great, and the twins were fun to be around, but Charlie… She had considered Charlie her family long, long before any of the others. He had welcomed her into the family from day one. Not that the others hadn't, but there was something about the ease of talking to him that had instantly bonded the two of them. To be able to talk with him, hang out with him, just exist in the same space as her _brother_ in person for the first time in years was amazing.

And _Bill_! She had heard about him of course, and he seemed amazing, but she was actually going to meet him! She wondered how the two of them would get along. He was considerably older than she was, being in his twenties and all. She wasn't too worried about the age difference, though. After all, Charlie was only a little younger than Bill. She wondered if Bill really was as cool as everyone said he was. She assumed he was, as it was inevitable that anyone who worked as a curse breaker in Egypt had to be a badass.

Humming to herself happily, Marigold ripped open the package from Dumbledore next. There was a short note on top of all of the stuffing.

_Enjoy your vacation. I hope this helps._

_(Think of this trip as a sort of learning experience, so have some extra scholarship funds.)_

Inside the box she found a pouch filled with seven Galleons. Her eyes grew wide. With this, she wouldn't have to use any of the Muggle money she had earned! She quickly put the Galleons into the dragonhide pouch Charlie had gotten her for her birthday last year. She was using it as her luggage since it was smaller than her school trunk and didn't weigh more than a small purse. It was perfect for traveling.

Marigold had double-checked and triple checked the bag already, pulling the contents out and putting them back again. She knew she had everything. She also knew that she and Percy were the only two packed and ready to go.

When Mr. Weasley got home from work that evening, and after everyone ate dinner, he made the announcement that he would be checking everyone's bag in two hours and that, 'We will not be frantically packing the morning of like we always do when we are trying to catch the Hogwarts Express.'

Ginny asked Marigold to help her pack, so the two of them went over outfits, trying to find cute combinations. Mr. Weasley wanted them to wear Muggle clothes while they were there so that they would look more like tourists and less like wizards in the very busy streets. Ginny was excitedly talking about anything and everything she could think of. She was really hoping that they would get some allowance for some shopping. After all, it wasn't every day they left the country and they were both sure that Egypt was going to have some interesting souvenirs to purchase.

With Marigold's help, the two of them finished packing earlier than everyone else. Marigold wanted to check one last time that she was one hundred percent packed, so she went back to her room. Several minutes after she had confirmed that she was, _indeed_, completely packed, she heard Mr. Weasley yelling at Fred and George from their room below hers.

"YOU CANNOT BRING FIREWORKS TO EGYPT! AND WHATEVER _THAT_ IS, IT'S NOT GOING EITHER!" She heard him bellow.

Marigold heard the twins protesting but Mr. Weasley wasn't having it. He even threatened to bring Mrs. Weasley up. The yelling died down immediately after that.

Eventually, there was a knock on her door and Mr. Weasley came in.

"Please tell me you took these two hours to get yourself packed," Mr. Weasley said quietly. He looked exhausted.

"I've been packed for days, but I checked again that I had everything." Marigold chuckled and handed the small purse over to Mr. Weasley. A look of confusion crossed his face and Marigold clarified, "It's enchanted, Charlie gave it to me for my birthday last year. Everything is in there, I promise."

"No fireworks?"

"No fireworks," Marigold agreed with a grin.

"Okay, get some rest then. We leave first thing in the morning."

Even with Mr. Weasley's best efforts, the next morning was a blur of chaos. Eventually, all of the Weasleys and Marigold were huddled up around the fireplace. One by one they took the Floo network to a little shop in Diagon Alley. Marigold stepped out of the fireplace and into a beautifully lit room with bright paintings of flowers on the walls and ornate rugs on the floor. The others were brushing themselves and their trunks off. Marigold made sure that her dragonhide pouch was at her side, then joined the rest of them.

Ron was holding Scabbers, his pet rat, who was making little sneezing noises. He had persuaded Mr. Weasley to let him bring Scabbers after noting that nobody would be home to feed him and that it wasn't illegal to travel with pets.

A witch in brightly decorated robes bustled into the room, her hair was done up in a tight bun, and her glasses were even more vibrant than her robes. She reminded Marigold of Professor Lockhart and for a moment she stood frozen in place. There was something about the way she walked, the almost too chipper way she talked… and her smile… it was eerily familiar. Maybe it was the robes as well. Marigold had never seen anyone wear robes quite as brightly colored as Professor Lockhart had, but this lady came really close. The robes looked so similar that Marigold wondered if they had been purchased in the same shop. It wasn't until Ginny gave her hand a quick squeeze and a look of _are you okay_ that she was able to move again, though very stiffly. She didn't let go of Ginny's hand, and thankfully, Ginny didn't seem to mind.

"You must be the Weasleys, we have been expecting you," she said. Her voice was high pitched and she had a lot of energy for so early in the morning. Marigold felt her breathing relax a little. Listening closely, their voices were nothing alike. Her's was more sing-songy than his had been. "Follow me, please. My name is Hana Burke and I will be helping you in your travels today."

The Weasleys followed her into another room with fireplaces lining the walls. Each one had a vase of floo powder on the mantle. At the far end of the room was a box of odds and ends that looked really out of place for the rest of the extravagantly decorated room. An old oilcan was on its side dripping black oil onto a gradually growing spot on the floor.

Hana sat down behind a desk and grabbed some papers to look over.

"Yes, everything seems to be in order. We have you traveling to one of our sister locations in Cairo, Egypt. I will just need all of you to sign here."

Marigold waited for her turn, and then signed the parchment under Ginny's loopy handwriting. With a lot of conscious effort, she was slowly calming back down.

"Perfect," Hana exclaimed. "I have miniature travel documents here for you, you will need to keep them on you at all times." She handed Mr. Weasley eight small green booklets.

Mr. Weasley handed them out to everyone with the warning of not to lose them. Marigold opened the booklet and found her own smiling face staring back up at her. Marigold wondered when Hana had taken her picture. Under the photo were her name, age, and description of general physical features.

"Last thing to make note of," Hana said. "The legal age of adulthood in Egypt is the same as it is here, so those of you who are under the age of seventeen can't do magic, terribly sorry about that."

Fred and George groaned. Hana smiled at them apologetically, like she truly understood how frustrated they must be, and got up from her desk and went to the second fireplace on the right side of the room.

"This fireplace has a direct line to our sister location, so you won't need to say anything at all, simply throw down the powder like usual and you will find yourself started on your wonderful vacation. Thank you for traveling with Globus Mundi Travel Agency."

Traveling to Egypt took longer than it had taken them to get to Diagon Alley, but not by much. Marigold still preferred it to Apparating. When Marigold stepped out into the room, it looked exactly like the room she had just left. The only thing that was different was the humidity. Marigold could almost feel her hair frizzing up.

"Marigold!"

"Charlie!"

Charlie Weasley was standing next to Mrs. Weasley who was fussing with him already. Charlie ducked away and raced over to her and picked her up into a big hug. He looked different. He was still short and stocky, but his arms were larger than the last time she had seen him. Wrangling dragons must be quite the workout. He had exploded in freckles too!

"Let me look at you! You look so old!" he said, setting her down.

Marigold giggled. "You're one to talk! How did you even lift me, you look ancient!"

Charlie laughed. "Is that a bit of gray in that mess of hair you got there?" he teased, grabbing a strand of very obviously vibrant red hair.

"Oh, come off it!" she laughed.

"Hello, Marigold, it's nice to finally meet you."

Marigold turned from Charlie and found herself looking up at a very tall, very handsome redhead. His hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that fell just below his shoulders. He was wearing dark clothes that looked mysterious and very out of place for a wizard. The only part of him that screamed anything other than a very goth Muggle were the dragonhide boots he was wearing.

"Marigold, meet Bill," Charlie said, standing on tiptoes and wrapping his arm around his brother's neck.

Marigold beamed, "It's nice to meet you too!"

Bill was infinitely cooler than what everyone had told her, ut he looked super approachable too. Marigold liked him already.

Everyone mingled about for a while. Bill wandered off to talk with Percy and Ron. Marigold stuck by Charlie who was telling her and Ginny how he got a really nasty burn from a dragon. Eventually the travel agent, a rather bored looking wizard, spoke up.

He asked them for their little booklets and stamped them with shiny ink that looked eerily like unicorn blood.

"Welcome to Cairo, Egypt," he said in a thick accent, then tiredly motioned for them to leave.

Marigold walked through the door and was suddenly blind. The sun was so bright that it took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, she found herself staring at the busiest street she had ever seen in her life.

It was obvious that they were in a location similar to Diagon Alley because everyone around her was clearly magic. Marigold had never seen a more diverse group of people. There were a couple tourists like themselves, but everyone else looked right at home. Marigold had to fight the urge to run off and look at everything. Instead, she followed Bill like everyone else. He looked right at home, and gave a tour as he led the way.

"This place is called Huna Wahunak, which in Arabic means _here and there._ It's the largest wizarding shopping district in all of Africa. It's like Diagon Alley if Diagon Alley had several thousand people walking through every day," Bill explained.

As it was eight in the morning, Marigold had little doubt of that statement.

They passed by several little café's. The entire district smelled overwhelmingly like coffee. There were shops everywhere, food and clothes and magical items were all over the place. Every so often, Marigold would step into a cloud of spice and the scent of cumin or coriander or other spices she couldn't identify, but smelled so familiar, would take over the coffee for a brief moment. There were so many items she hadn't seen before displayed under awnings on tables that extended far into stores, or on little kiosk stands in the middle of the busy street.

Marigold heard the sounds of animals, and they passed by an exotic pet shop on their right, with everything from teeny tiny elephants that could fit in the palm of your hand to much weirder creatures Marigold didn't even recognize. There were just as many bookstores as there were cafés, a couple of them had adverts in their windows claiming to have scrolls from the Library of Alexandria.

Marigold was trying to take everything in, but the further into the district they walked, the more there was to look at. Marigold wasn't the only one who was trying to look everywhere at once, all the other Weasley kids looked like bobble heads.

Marigold accidently bumped into a young witch while she was trying to look into a wand shop. She looked about the same age as Percy. She had warm brown skin with terra cotta freckles splashed along her cheeks. Her robes were long, wispy and peach colored, a beige scarf covered her hair.

Marigold apologized profusely, but the girl just smiled.

"No harm done," she said in a thick accent.

The girl waved at Marigold and continued on her way.

"Goodness, Marigold, walk much?" Charlie teased, nudging her with his elbow, a giant grin on his face.

"Nah- you know- never did get the hang of it," Marigold laughed awkwardly, blushing and shoving him back.

Marigold was still bright red when they finally reached their hotel. It was a very large building at the end of the street. It looked a little like the Leaky Cauldron, but in way better condition and called The Broken Sistrum. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talked with the lady behind the counter and negotiated a rate for their room and their month-long stay.

Bill was staying in his flat across town, but had agreed to stay with them when he could. He hadn't been able to get the whole month off work like Charlie and Mr. Weasley had, but he had gotten certain days off.

They walked up to their door, finally, and Mr. Weasley opened it up. Everyone piled in. Marigold didn't know what she had expected, but it wasn't this. The room was huge. There were several bedrooms, several bathrooms, a dining area, and even a kitchen! Fred and George cheered and tried to call dibs on the biggest room. They were all mid stride, about to race off and try to pick their rooms when Mr. Weasley cleared his throat.

"Before we do all of that, there are a few rules your mother and I have come up with."

Ron groaned, but quieted down when Mr. Weasley sternly glared at him.

"First off, you must keep your identification on you at all times. Second, Ron, Ginny, and Marigold, if you want to venture outside of Huna Wahunak you must be accompanied by myself, your mother, Bill or Charlie at all times. Percy, Fred, and George, you are allowed to go off on your own, but you must let us know where you are going first.

"Unless your mother and I are present, the curfew for this family is nine o'clock. No, I will not waver on that time at all. If you are sleeping in this hotel, you must be in this room every night at nine, and if you are not, you don't even want to know what the ramifications will be."

"Your father and I also have a gift for each of you," Mrs. Weasley said brushing past her husband with a tap on his shoulder. "It will have to last the whole trip, but we wanted each of you to have a little bit of spending money."

Mrs. Weasley went around and handed each of them a Galleon. Ron's eyes were the size of said Galleons, and Ginny let out a little squeal of delight. Bill and Charlie tried to protest, saying they had jobs and didn't need anything, but Mrs. Weasley smacked each of them upside the head and they accepted the gift.

Mrs. Weasley handed Marigold hers last. Marigold also tried to protest, but Mrs. Weasley just shushed her. Graciously accepting the gift, Marigold reached into her bag and put the Galleon next to the seven she had received from Dumbledore.

"Time to divvy up the rooms," Mr. Weasley said. "Ginny and Marigold will share, Fred, George, and Ron will share, Percy and Charlie will split one as well, and when Bill is here he will room with you. The master bed is ours, but you kids go nuts."

Marigold grabbed Ginny's hand and the two of them booked it from room to room until they found the one they wanted. Ron had gone ahead, but lost the fight over the room when Fred and George came and dragged him to the room they won from Bill and Charlie. Marigold and Ginny giggled then looked around their winnings.

There were two beds in the room, and a big window looking over Huna Wahunak below. You could also see the big city where Muggles were driving around and walking everywhere. There was also a bathroom connected to the room with a tiled floor, bathtub, and shower. Sweet smelling flowers were on the end tables, and above their beds were pictures of the pyramids.

Marigold flopped down on one of the beds and just stared out the window.

"What do you want to do first?" Ginny asked, excitedly.

"Food!" Marigold answered without hesitation. "We passed by so many places on the way here, I want to eat everything!"

"You just read my mind!" Charlie said, appearing in the doorway with Bill.

"Do you know of any good places to get food here, Bill?" Ginny asked.

"There's actually a little Muggle place next to my apartment," Bill said. "I'll bring it up to mum and dad."

Bill turned and left the room. Was he always so to the point?

"I see you're using the dragon hide pouch I got you for your birthday," Charlie said, coming in and sitting down in a chair by the window.

"It's super useful! Oh! And I brought the dragon hair tie Harry got me. I figured you would want to see it."

Marigold reached her whole arm into the bag and rummaged around until she found it. She handed it to Charlie who turned it over in his hands examining it.

"Fascinating, it has the exact markings and temperament as a baby opaleye," he said, handing it back to her.

Marigold grinned and put it back into her bag. Words couldn't express how happy she was to see Charlie. Just being in the same room after so long was fantastic!

"How's Romania, Charlie?" Ginny asked.

"Mum and dad said we're leaving!" Ron panted, running into the room his hand over a squeaking pocket. "Come back to the living room!" and with that he was gone again.

Exchanging excited glances, the three of them made their way out of the room and back to the crowded living room.

"I hope everyone is content with where they will be staying, because it's time to start exploring!" Mrs. Weasley said, clasping her hands together.

"When we were here last, the Giza pyramid complex was an all-day event, and since it's still early we figured we would start off there," Mr. Weasley said.

Everyone followed Bill, as he was the only one who knew his way around. They made their way out of the busy streets of Huna Wahunak and into the streets of Cairo. Bill flagged down a bus and they all hopped on. He had explained that there were other ways of getting to the pyramids, of course, but with most everyone being underage the easiest way to go would be by bus.

They weren't the only tourists on the bus. An American family of four was talking loudly as the bus lurched about the streets. They were very obviously Muggles, and they were talking very excitedly amongst themselves about things they were planning to do.

Marigold heard a rather loud whispered conversation between Ron and Mr. Weasley. Apparently, Ron had smuggled Scabbers onto the bus. Mr. Weasley was telling him that if he lost him they wouldn't go looking for him and that it was very foolish to have brought him. Ron was trying to argue that he hadn't known Scabbers had been in his pocket, which was a blatant lie since his pocket had been squealing when he had run into their room.

Eventually the Pyramids loomed into view, once the other buildings cleared out of the way. They traveled through what the bus driver hastily pointed out as the Village of Nazlet el-Samman. Then, finally, they had reached the ticket office. The American family got off and went in the direction of the ticket office, but Bill dragged everyone over to a different entrance, one that seemed to appear and disappear like heat ripples in the sand. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Bill and Charlie, talked with the man behind the counter, and eventually everyone lined up. The wizard, because he was clearly wearing robes, spoke some words that Marigold didn't understand and everyone's hands lit up with a tiny iridescent design that looked like three pyramids under a large full moon.

"This will get you into all the magical attractions, the ones Muggles can't get into," he said in a very bored voice. "And please don't take anything that isn't sold in designated places, most of these objects have horrible curses attached to them. The tomb of Queen Khentkawes is off limits for children under Twelve. Enjoy your stay."

The Weasleys were handed several maps, and all huddled around them trying to decide where to go first. They ultimately decided on the largest of the three main pyramids. The Pyramid of Khufu. They walked in the same way as the Muggles, but as they walked, other passages would open up to them and they could wait for a moment when nobody was watching and explore those. Every so often they would find a witch or wizard who would explain what that room was, or why it was unavailable to the Muggle populace.

Most of the rooms were only accessible through magical means, but some rooms weren't even accessible that way. According to one witch, who was just as excited about her job as the ticket wizard had been bored, some of the rooms still hadn't been explored by Muggles or by witches and wizards. Bill stepped in to explain that part of his job was to try and get into those rooms. The girl looked at him and squeaked out a _Hi Bill_.

Marigold found one chamber to be particularly interesting. It was a chamber behind an elegant door in the Queen's chamber. The room had all sorts of beautiful trinkets. The most beautiful was a golden necklace with a large blue scarab beetle in the center. According to the young wizard in that room, the necklace was cursed so that anyone who tried to remove it from the room would find their eyes coated in a thin layer of gold so that they wouldn't be able to see anything but their greed ever again.

"My coworker McCarthy is trying to break that curse, but it's slow going," Bill explained. "We don't know what the initial spell was so he has to figure that out first. Hopefully he does so soon, because he's been bumping into everything for weeks now."

Toward the end of their tour, Fred and George were giggling in a corner next to a small door. Mrs. Weasley spotted them just after Marigold and rushed over to see why they were so exceptionally giddy. She opened the door to find a red-faced Percy with his shirt ruffed up.

"You locked your brother in a Pyramid!?" she screeched, her voice echoing down the pyramid.

Wide eyed, Marigold turned around and scooted in the other direction to where Charlie and Ron were trying not to cry with laughter.

After the main pyramid, they sat down in a little clearing in front of the Great Sphinx and ate the lunch that Mrs. Weasley had packed earlier that morning. It was amazing to think that just that morning they had been in the Burrow, and now they were sitting in the heat and sand surrounded by history.

Shortly after finishing lunch, while they were waiting for things to settle, a rather haggard looking wizard came running up to them.

"Are you the Weasley's?" he asked,

"We are," Mr. Weasley said, confused but standing to greet him.

"I'm here from the Daily Prophet, we take photos of the winners of our drawing with what they are doing with the winnings." The wizard motioned to his camera.

"Oh, of course, kids gather round!"

Marigold found herself being moved here and there by the wizard while he tried to find the perfect position to take the family's photo. Eventually he settled on one with the pyramids directly in the background. Marigold smiled bright, Ginny was beaming, even Ron had a smile on his face, Scabbers sitting on his shoulder. The poor rat looked deeply dehydrated, but the photographer didn't say anything about him being in the photo.

After taking the photo, the wizard said a hasty goodbye then ran off. Everyone was excited to be in the paper, and talked about it until lunch was finished.

"Alright, Ginny, you come with me while the boys and Marigold go off and see the temple of Queen Khentkawes."

"Aw but mum, it can't be that bad can it? Besides I'm turning twelve in a month!" Ginny protested.

"Ginny's right, couldn't she come?" Marigold asked, trying to help.

"I didn't make the rules, the man who sold us our tickets did. And if you want to protest you can come with me too, we can make it a girl's afternoon," Mrs. Weasley's threat was very thinly veiled,

"Sorry Ginny, I tried!" Marigold said, rushing to catch up with the boys.

"Traitor!" Ginny called after her.

The Muggle section of the tour was fine, but once they entered a corridor only wizards could go down, things got crazy _really fast_. They entered a chamber where a lot of skeletons were piled on the side of the room. Marigold froze. The skeletons didn't look right and upon closer inspection, Marigold realized that some of them had multiple limbs where limbs shouldn't be, or, worse yet, multiple heads.

A small witch further into the chamber was explaining that Muggles had tried to enter this section of the tomb only to be cursed and ultimately perish in agony. Furthermore, the bodies couldn't be removed for some reason, no matter how many spells they tried. As they went further and further into the tomb, things got weirder and weirder. Apparently, this tomb had so much in the way of traps for Muggles, that it was a regular horror show.

They passed through a long hall that had stained red walls. Marigold was reminded of other red stained walls and was glad that Ginny hadn't come with them. There was a room with ghosts that wanted to do nothing other than scream. Marigold suddenly found herself pressed to the wall unable to move. She pressed her hands over her ears, but the screaming didn't stop… _it was in her head… _She let go of her ears, but that was_ worse_, so she covered them back up again.

"Marigold, what's wrong?" Charlie asked, rushing over to her, worry plastered across his face. "What's wrong?" he asked again, so she could hear him through her covered ears.

"I don't like this," she whimpered, eyeing a rather loud ghost a few feet away from her.

"Okay," Charlie looked around the room and found Mr. Weasley. "Dad! Marigold and I are going to catch up with mum!" he called over.

"Everything alright?" he called back.

"Yeah! We're just feeling a little dehydrated!"

"Alright, see you soon!" Mr. Weasley had a look of doubt on his face, but smiled when he caught Marigold looking.

Charlie stayed by Marigold's side helping to coax her back through the tomb. She didn't want to move, but she really wanted out. She was shaking really bad and by the time they got back outside all the color had drained from her face. Charlie sat her down and disappeared for a second, only to reappear a second later with a bottle of water.

"You doing okay?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

Marigold finally let her hands down from her ears. The screaming had finally stopped. She downed the bottle of water before answering. "I really didn't like that."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really," she sighed.

"Want to just wait until everyone is done with their tours and then meet up with them?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

And so they did. Marigold just rested her head on his shoulder and they people-watched in silence until Marigold stopped shaking and was able to breathe normally again.

They saw Ginny and Mrs. Weasley who had gone through the temple of the Sphinx, and the two of them went to meet them. Neither of them said anything, and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny didn't ask questions. The boys caught up with them after a few more minutes and they all did several more tours, with only a few things jumping out as intensely interesting. Bill pointed out what area he was working on, but couldn't say exactly what it was he was doing since his section was off limits to visitors.

Eventually it was time to head back to the hotel. Everyone clambered onto the bus and they headed into town. The American family was talking in whispers because the youngest had fallen asleep on the dad's lap.

Marigold and the Weasleys got off first and Marigold didn't recognize where they were.

"We were thinking we would go to a little restaurant Bill knows," Mrs. Weasley said as everyone followed Bill through the busy streets.

"They have really good traditional Egyptian cuisine," Bill said.

Marigold heard Ginny's stomach growl and Marigold's answered back with an even louder growl causing the two of them to laugh.

They walked in and Marigold's nose started to have a hard time doing what it was supposed to. There were so many smells that were mixing together and some that were trying to overpower the others and it was a spice heaven in there. A man came bustling up to Bill and talking very fast. Bill answered back and gestured toward the rest of the family.

Bill's language was a little bit choppy but the server seemed to understand. He turned toward the family and smiled brightly at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He ushered everyone over to a large table and sat them down. He and Bill talked some more and then he scurried off to the kitchen.

"Mr. Haddad and his sons run this restaurant with the recipes his late wife would always make. It's family style food and everything is wonderful," Bill explained.

"The two of you seem very close," Mr. Weasley said fondly.

"He actually lives in the same apartment complex as me. I met him my second week working here and he invited me to come and eat. I've been coming ever since."

"So, how has work been, Bill?" Percy asked, changing the subject.

Bill told them what he could about his job, which transitioned into other topics. Everyone was excitedly talking when a fresh wave of spices wafted into the room. Two boys around Charlie and Percy's age were carrying trays of food over to their table. Everyone quieted down as they set the plates down around the table.

Everyone dug in and for a few moments the table was entirely quiet. Marigold was trying to identify what she was eating, but other than the bay leaves and the ginger she was having a hard time.

"What kind of meat is this, Bill?" Ron asked, stuffing more into his mouth.

"That one is duck, the one Fred is eating is rabbit, and mum is eating lamb," Bill said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Which one is your favorite?" Marigold asked.

"I like all of them, but my favorite dish has to be Roz Bel Laban. It's a really nice, sweet rice pudding that I had the first time I ate here," he said smiling.

After finally finishing dinner, everyone said goodnight to Bill, and ventured back to the bus to try and find their way back to their hotel without his help. Marigold caught Charlie's attention while everyone else was talking.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Any time," he said, pulling her into a quick side hug.

Back at the hotel, Marigold crawled into bed. The sheets were warm and the bed was just right. Ginny grabbed the lights and crawled into her own bed. The two of them were much too exhausted to talk; Ginny was snoring moments after her head hit the pillow. Marigold looked out the window at the city lights that dimly lit up the room. She drearily wondered what Harry and Neville were up to, then fell asleep happily thinking of her friends.


	3. Sophie

**Sophie**

Marigold spent most of her days with one or two of the Weasley's wandering around Huna Wahunak. She did most of her exploring with Charlie and the two of them talked dragons, friends and school. He didn't press her about how she was doing, and she really appreciated him for that.

The days seemed to be slipping by, but in a good way, and Marigold found that a week had already passed and it was Neville's birthday which meant that her birthday was the next day!

She figured she should probably go and buy Neville and Harry's gifts. She had written to the two of them a few days prior, to wish them a happy birthday, so hopefully they would receive the letters by today or tomorrow.

So after getting dressed and ready, Marigold let Mrs. Weasley know what she was going to do and headed into the busy streets of Huna Wahunak. Having no idea what she wanted to get them, Marigold decided to just meander around until she found something that caught her eye. There was so much to look at and so many things to buy. She found herself going down the streets she had already gone down several times before, and decided to make a conscious effort to go somewhere new.

She turned down a side street she had never seen before and found all sorts of new shops. There were several stores that were really interesting to her, but she didn't think Harry or Neville would appreciate anything from them so she moved on.

Eventually she happened across a used bookstore. Marigold felt like she was being called into the shop, the musty smell of old paper taking over her and pulling her in. It was lit by candlelight, which, unlike every other wizarding shop, house, or building, seemed like it wasn't a particularly good idea. The library at Hogwarts was lit with candles, just like the rest of Hogwarts, but this shop was nothing like the library.

Instead of neatly organized bookshelves taller than the eye could see and candles that were far enough away from the books that it wasn't a danger, this shop had books scattered all over the place and candles dangerously close. If one book were to fall out of place, Marigold was sure that the whole shop would go up in flames.

Nevertheless, Marigold found herself venturing in, careful not to bump into anything. Most of the books were in Arabic, but there were several in Greek, and even fewer in English. Marigold didn't dare touch anything as she looked. The further into the shop she went the more the books stacked up, the piles growing bigger and bigger with each step. From the outside, the shop had looked like all the others but as she continued looking around she wondered if she would ever reach the back… or if it ended at all.

Here and there, there would be a book where she could read the title. She had just finished admiring the small spine of a book about the occupation of Egypt from 1882 to 1952 when she turned a corner and found herself looking at a glowing green book that looked like the cover was made of dried leaves. Marigold stared in amazement as the Arabic symbols transformed into English before her very eyes. _An Incomplete Compendium of the Magical Flora of Africa._

This was perfect for Neville!

Fortunately, the book was on one of the few bookshelves in the shop, not in some sort of pile. Unfortunately, the book was nestled in between a book that glowed red hot and a book that looked like it would bite her if she touched it.

Not wanting to leave and go get help fearing she would never find it again, Marigold decided to risk it. She gently reached out and tried to pry the book from the shelf. Beside her hand, the fiery book lit up bright, and the other one growled menacingly. Moving fast, Marigold grabbed the book and yanked it out of the shelf. As the book moved out of the space, another book that spewed out tiny sparkling stars, moved from behind it where it had been hiding and took its place.

Marigold was right, the cover of the book _was_ made out of leaves, but they didn't feel crunchy like dried leaves felt. They were somewhat silky to the touch and very, very green. She flipped through it and saw hundreds of hand drawn plants labeled and explained in great detail. There was no price listed, and Marigold really hoped she could afford it.

Wondering if she could maybe find a book for Harry, Marigold continued to look around the store. She found many fascinating books, but nothing she thought Harry would truly appreciate. She made her way back to where she thought the front of the store was, only getting turned around once or twice.

At the front of the store, there was a young boy, who was probably around six or seven, fast asleep at the register. Looking around uncomfortably, Marigold placed the book down in front of him. The boy shot up, wide awake and stared unblinkingly at her.

"Sorry!" she said, awkwardly. "I was wondering if I could purchase this book. How much is it?"

He picked up the book and gently turned it over. His nails were sharpened into points. "What are you willing to give? What do you think a book like this is worth?" he asked. His voice was misty.

"I'm not sure, I've never seen a book like it before. I want to get it as a gift."

"Ah, then it is free," he said smiling and handing the book out to her.

"I don't understand," she said, uncertain if she should take the book from him.

"The gift of knowledge is priceless, so the spreading of it cannot be priced either."

"But this is a store, not a library," Marigold said confused.

"Take it. Gift it. Make sure they love and use it."

Still confused, Marigold took the book from his small clawlike hands. "Thank you,' she said, holding the book close and offering a shy smile. 'I am sure he will love it."

The boy just smiled and nodded at her. With a very large stretch of his arms, he closed his eyes and once again returned to sleep, using his arm as a pillow.

Marigold left the store, placing the faintly glowing book in her dragon hide pouch. Shaking her head, Marigold walked further into Huna Wahunak looking for a gift for Harry.

Marigold got Harry's gift with money, not vague promises to a child. It was a small red rag with intricate designs printed on it. The saleswizard promised that it would clean glasses on the first swipe, leaving no smudges. It was even able to repair scratches.

After looking around a little longer, Marigold could feel her legs growing tired and decided to get some coffee. Following her nose more than her knowledge of the layout of Huna Wahunak, she found the best smelling coffee place and went in.

Marigold ordered a small coffee, grabbed it and turned to find a table when she nearly bumped into someone. Hot coffee spilled on the floor and Marigold found herself face to face with a pretty girl wearing butterscotch robes and a coral scarf over her hair.

"I am so sorry, I didn't see you!"

"No harm done," the girl said. Her voice was deep and her accent was smooth.

Marigold looked up to a familiar face with terra cotta freckles splashed across her face. Marigold flushed, she had already bumped into this girl on her first day in Huna Wahunak.

"It's you!" Marigold said.

"It's me," the girl answered, smiling. "Let me buy you another coffee, I startled you into dropping yours."

"You don't have to do that!" Marigold said. She could feel herself blushing an even deeper shade of red.

The girl just waved her hand and ordered two coffees. The girl grabbed both cups and Marigold followed her outside to a table.

"My name is Nawra Mostafa," she said, setting one coffee in front of Marigold.

"Marigold Rosenberg."

"Are you English?" she asked, taking a sip of her coffee and looking at Marigold intently. Marigold noticed a small ring on her finger with delicate carvings etched into it.

"Yes, I'm here on vacation with my family," Marigold said, blowing on her coffee.

"So, you go to Hogwarts?"

Marigold nodded. "Is there a school here that you go to?"

"Ugadou, I am in my last year," she said fondly.

The two of them talked about their schools, Nawra's was carved out of the side of a mountain. She told Marigold she was studying self-Transfiguration, which Marigold found incredibly fascinating. Marigold didn't really know what she wanted to study, but she told Nawra that she was adept at dueling so maybe there was something there.

"They teach dueling at Hogwarts?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Not officially, we had a bit of an incident last year so the teachers put together a club. The whole incident was all over the papers there, but I suppose it wouldn't be important enough for international news," Marigold mused.

Marigold turned the conversation to something else, and the two of them found themselves talking until their shadows started getting long. The busy street beside them was getting slower; there were still a lot of people, but they weren't shoulder to shoulder like they were midday.

Nawra was just in the middle of explaining how her brother is really important with the International Association of Quidditch when a pouf of bright blue smoke erupted on the table between their empty cups.

A tiny little creature with huge ears had appeared from within the smoke. It was pure white with striking blue eyes and looked like a mix between a cat and something else… maybe a fox?

"Oh, this is Monti," Nawra said, as the little foxlike creature crawled over to her and curled up next to her hand. "He's a Nizul. There's a wild cat from India, the Rusty Spotted Cat I think it's called, and Nizul's are roughly the same size and shape, but with the ears and tail of a Fennec Fox from the Sahara. But they are definitely magical and nobody really knows why they look like they do." Nawra explained. "My brother must be wondering where I am, he usually sends Monti out to find me if I've been gone a long time."

"I should probably be getting going as well," Marigold said looking at the clearing street.

"It was really wonderful bumping into you again," Nawra said, standing up from the table. "If you weren't from so far away, I would say we should meet up again. Maybe we will see eachother again someday."

Marigold, blushing, smiled really wide. "I hope so. I would really like that."

The two of them returned their cups and parted ways. Marigold was a little sad, but she had enjoyed their conversation. She watched as Nawra was swallowed by the crowd and then turned the other way.

She quickly made her way through the streets and up to their hotel room and found that she wasn't the first one back. Bill looked like he had just gotten off work. He was standing in the kitchen downing a pitcher of water. Out of the corner of his eye he must have spotted her putting her things down.

"Evening, Marigold. What have you been up to?"

"I got done shopping early and met someone nice and had coffee." Marigold sat down at the table and Bill put the pitcher away and sat down next to her. "How was work?" she asked rather awkwardly. The two of them had never talked one on one and Marigold wasn't sure what to say.

"Work went well, McCarthy finally figured out the initial spell on that cursed necklace, now all we have to do is reverse engineer it. We believe he will be able to see again in no time."

"That's good news," Marigold said.

"Tomorrow is your birthday, right?" Bill asked, breaking a short silence.

"Mmhmm," she said.

"Is there anything you want? Thirteen, is a good birthday, finally a teenager."

Marigold hadn't really thought about what she wanted for her birthday. Sure, there were a few things that she saw while she was walking around, and Nawra's pet Nizul was really cute. She had been too preoccupied with getting Neville and Harry their presents that she forgot all about her own.

"I'm not quite sure, there's a lot here to choose from. Sorry, I know that's not much help."

"Don't worry about it, I put you on the spot. I have a couple ideas, and I'm sure Mum and Dad have a couple ideas as well."

As if summoned by their names, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley chose that moment to walk in through the door.

"Bill! You go the night off!" Mrs. Weasley kissed both of them on the cheek then started taking all the groceries from Mr. Weasley's arms.

Marigold and Bill helped with dinner, and by the time everyone was back from exploring, the hotel smelled like the rest of Huna Wahunak. Everyone talked about their days as they ate. Percy had gone to Muggle Egypt to look around all the old buildings. Fred and George had messed around in Huna Wahunak trying to find something fun to bring back. Everyone had a fun story to tell, even Marigold, who told them about meeting Nawra and her little pet Nizul.

After dinner everyone spent the evening together in the living room talking more about their day. Eventually everyone started heading off to bed. In their room, Ginny showed Marigold a really pretty summery dress she had purchased. It had a flowery print and was a really pretty sage green. Marigold showed her the gifts she had gotten Harry and Neville. Ginny agreed that they were going to like them and calmed Marigold's worries that Harry's gift wasn't silly.

Marigold was still wide awake when Ginny decided to go to bed, so she decided to relax in a hot shower. As Marigold stood in the warm shower going over all the places she had gone, the water rolling down her head and down to the tile floor, she realized she had been having an easier time staying part of her body instead of watching herself doing things. She wished she had a word for how she sometimes felt like she was outside of her body, but the longer she stayed in Huna Wahunak the better she felt. Hogwarts was so far away and all her responsibilities were with it.

She crawled into bed about an hour later, her fingers pruney and her towel dried hair still damp. Ginny was drooling and her hair was a mess on her pillow. Marigold still wasn't sleeping the best, but when she inevitably woke up, she just looked out the giant window facing their beds and watched the lights and streets of Muggle Egypt and breathed easy. After staring out the window for just a few minutes, Marigold found herself falling to sleep.

Marigold woke up the next morning with a pillow straight to the gut.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!"

Ginny was giggling and wapping at her with her pillow. Marigold, winded and bleary eyed, grabbed her own pillow, her wand underneath nearly falling off the bed in the process, and threw it at Ginny missing completely.

After getting dressed, the two of them raced down to the kitchen where they burst in on an anxious looking Mr. Weasley reading over the Daily Prophet he had been having special delivered to their room. The two of them immediately stopped. Mrs. Weasley was standing over his shoulder, her hand on her chest.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, the smile dropping from her face.

"There's been a breakout at Azkaban," Mr. Weasley said, not bothering to look up from the paper.

Marigold and Ginny exchanged a confused look. Marigold understood that things were serious, but didn't really know all the ramifications of what Mr. Weasley had just said. She knew Azkaban was the wizarding prison, but the only time she ever really heard anything about it was when Hagrid had been sent there last year.

"Who was it?" Ginny asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Sirius Black, a big supporter of You-Know-Who," Mrs. Weasley answered. "No matter that," she said, grabbing the paper from her husband who only gently protested. "Happy birthday, Marigold." Mrs. Weasley kissed her on the forehead and handed her several letters that were on the table.

Two were from Harry and Neville, but the other two made her stomach drop. Mrs. Weasley promptly engaged Ginny and Mr. Weasley in helping her with breakfast.

Marigold had two envelopes addressed to her from each of her parents. With a deep breath and a hammering heart, she opened the letter from her mother first and read the first thing she had heard from her mother in six years.

_Marigold, sweetheart,_

_Your father has told me where it is that you are going to school and spending your summers. I know he's writing to you, but I felt compelled to write to you myself. I know that he mentioned that we got together in his letter to you last year, and that you have a baby brother now. Florin is fourteen months old now and he hasn't shown any of the oddities you showed by and before his age._

_Your father had to report you as a runaway, you know. I know you didn't get out of the house very much, you were always such a shy girl, but people eventually noticed that you were gone and he had to tell them something… he couldn't exactly say where you had gone._

_Your father doesn't say it, but he misses you. I miss you too, I haven't seen you since you were seven! You could always come home. We could be a happy family again._ _I'm working as an art teacher at a cute little school you could attend._

_Your father has told me a little about the school you are attending, and I got a letter from your Headmaster explaining things. I know the school is teaching you to control yourself, but you have always been so bright! You could probably come home now and be perfectly normal!_

_I was also told that you are staying with a rather large family. I hope they are feeding you enough, but you never did eat very much did you? I hope they are treating you well, but remember sweetheart, they will never replace your real family._

_Your father tells me that he gave you my old locket. That little thing has been passed down, mother to daughter, for generations. My mother told me when she gave it to me that it was given to our great-great-great-something grandmother by a man she had had a dalliance with. As deplorable as that was, the locket is truly a beautiful piece. I think I still have the box it came in somewhere around the house… _

_I had always dreamed about giving them to you once you were seven. Seven is such a good age. But we had that big incident a couple days before your birthday and I went on my vacation before I could ever give them to you._

_I'm glad you have it now, though. I hope you are wearing it, and maybe when you come back home we could get a family picture for the inside. I wish I could see you for your birthday, but this letter will have to do._

_I love you sweetheart; I hope you come home soon,_

_Mom_

Marigold reread the letter, her eyes wide and angry, trying to see if she had read it right. She had. But her mother had always been like this, so why was she surprised? It's not like a five-year _vacation_ would change her that much.

When she went to put the letter back in the envelope she noticed a small photo of the three of them staring at her. Her mother was cradling Florian between her and her husband. They were all smiling.

Florian didn't look anything like Marigold like she had imagined he did. He looked like their father. He had a pudgy face black hair and brown eyes. Though the photo was still, she could still see his giggle as if he were laughing at her. Her father looked the same as always, except he was smiling.

But it wasn't her father's smile or the little brother she had never met that Marigold focused on. Instead, her eyes were drawn to her mother.

She looked different than Marigold remembered. Marigold had always been told she looked like her mother, sometimes with the words spat at her with venom from her father… but she _didn't_ look like her mother. Her mother's eyes were hazel and round while Marigolds were more almond like and a bright, vibrant green. Even their faces were different. Her mother had softer features and a rounded face with few freckles. Marigold, on the other hand, had slightly sharper features and a heart shaped face, and after being in the Egyptian sun for several days, her freckles had exploded.

The only reason Marigold could assume they would be compared was their hair; it was the same shade of orangey-red.

The still photo in Marigold's hands was full of lies. She didn't look like her mother and her parents were never really that happy. Not when she lived with them they weren't. Marigold tucked the photo away and grabbed the letter from her father.

_Marigold,_

_I am writing to you again at the request of your Headmaster. Not much has changed since I last talked to you, but apparently I need to write to you anyway._

_I occasionally get updates about you. I've been told you received good marks on your exams. That's good, they don't have to kick you out of school and send you back. Keep doing whatever your kind does._

_Your mother has convinced herself that you are coming home. She doesn't seem to remember what it's like to live with your interruptions. Even if this school was teaching you control and you were phenomenal at it, it still wouldn't change the fact that magic would still be a part of you making you unfit to live in my house._

_Florian is growing up very fast. It's amazing how different he is compared to you. He's a completely ordinary baby. So much so that I have begun to wonder where it is that you come from._

_Donald_

Marigold was _pissed! _Her heart was hammering hard in her chest and she felt like she was watching herself sit at the table, her hands trembling and the letters shaking. She could tell that Mrs. Weasley was keeping an eye on her from the kitchen and all Marigold wanted to do was throw up. This was not how she wanted to start her birthday. An escaped convict and known associate of Voldemort, and letters from her parents? Absolutely _not _how she had wanted her day to go.

The letters from Harry and Neville were nice, she was able to calm down a little bit after reading them, and by the time Mr. Weasley placed a plate of french toast in front of her, she was feeling better enough to fake that she was completely fine. She was still fuming, but was doing her best to not let it get to her… it wasn't really working.

She was forcing herself to take bites of food that tasted like cardboard when everyone started trickling down from their rooms and sitting at the table. Everyone wished her happy birthday, and as soon as they were done eating, Mrs. Weasley ushered everyone into the living room where Marigold noticed a small stack of presents wrapped in brown paper.

"You didn't have to get me anything, being here with all of you is more than enough," she said, forcing a smile.

"Nonsense," Mr. Weasley said, gently steering her to a seat on the couch and handing her a present. "This one is from the two of us," he said, gesturing to himself and Mrs. Weasley.

Inside of a small box was a thin bracelet with a small blue scarab beetle charm. She had seen these everywhere in Huna Wahunak, but hers was by far the prettiest she had seen. It had no clasp, but two ends that when pulled tightened the bracelet.

"I love it, thank you!"

Next up, Ron and Ginny tossed her a small package. Inside was a small box with designs cut into it and sticks that smelled like a field of flowers.

"It's incense to help promote good sleep and get rid of bad dreams," Ginny said. "Ron picked out the box, but the incense was my idea!"

Marigold gave both of them a hug, and Ron blushed.

Percy had gotten her a book on ancient Egyptian magical practices.

Fred and George tossed her a small box with familiar looking candy in it that she politely refused to eat claiming her breakfast had been too big. They didn't look at all hurt or surprised.

Marigold looked down at the table, there was just one gift left. The smallest of them all. Bill handed her the tiny box. Ripping off the paper, Marigold found a small, thin dragon leather… something.

"It's a bookmark," Bill explained. "If it's been awhile since you opened the book, it will flash a short summary of what you have read."

"That's incredible," she breathed, running her fingers along the small gold tassel decorating it.

After a moment of silence as she admired the bookmark, Charlie coughed.

"I didn't get you anything yet because I want you to help me pick it out," he said, grinning, "I was hoping we could go shopping together later today."

"I think that's great! Thank you so much, everyone, this is one of the best birthdays ever!"

She meant it too. But, she supposed no birthday would ever compare to two years ago when she had gotten a family as a birthday present.

After helping her bring everything to her room, Charlie and Marigold ventured out into Huna Wahunak. Charlie didn't say where he was going, and Marigold just followed him along as they weaved in and out of the crowd trying their best not to get separated. They walked past all the shops Marigold had ever gone past and toward the far end of Huna Wahunak. When they finally stopped they were in front of a small shop that smelled quite bad and had a lot of wild sounds coming from it.

"A pet shop?" she asked, confused.

"I was thinking I would get you your own owl. That way you don't have to keep using the school owls."

"Charlie that's too much!" Marigold protested.

"Nonsense, let's go!"

Charlie grabbed her hand and the two of them walked into the pet shop. The walls were lined with cages filled with all sorts of animals. The smell was overwhelming and there were all sorts of noises around them. In the corner of the room was a large pen. Chirping noises were coming from inside. Charlie and Marigold exchanged curious glances and then both moved toward the pen.

Inside were about twelve Nizuls of all different colors. Etched around the pen were symbols and hieroglyphs painted in black holographic ink.

"Is this what your friend had?" Charlie asked, looking at the Nizuls rolling around and playing.

"Yeah, these are even smaller though. Apparently, they can Apparate and carry large things."

"Do you suppose they could Apparate inside of Hogwarts?"

"I mean, it's possible." Marigold was looking at a small red and orange one with soft brown around its amber eyes. It was trying to eat its own foot.

"They're kind of like cats wouldn't you say?"

Marigold turned away from the pen and looked at Charlie, he had a grin on his face. "What are you getting at?" she asked skeptically.

"I'm just thinking that maybe one of these would suit you better than an owl. After all, they can get from point A to point B way faster. We could write to each other more often."

Marigold turned back to the pen. They were really cute, and they _were_ similar to cats. But if she thought an owl was too much, getting one of these would be way too extravagant.

"I couldn't possibly ask for one of these, Charlie. Why don't we just continue to walk around, maybe I can find a nice book or something."

"Come on, Marigold, let me get you something nice for your birthday. I got a bonus at work and when is the next time I'm going to see you? Let me get you something extravagant."

Marigold felt like she was being spoiled, but at that moment, the small Nizul she had been looking at hopped over to where she was standing and squeaked at her, its big eyes blinking up at her. A warm calm spread over her and all she wanted to do was pick it up.

"Okay, this one then."

A witch in dark crimson robes popped up out of nowhere as if summoned by Marigold's resolve. Charlie and the witch talked about prices, and eventually Marigold was allowed into the pen to grab which one she wanted.

Nothing could have prepared her for when she stepped into the pen. A bunch of smoke in all different colors erupted around her, and she found herself covered in small balls of fur.

"They like to do that," the witch said in a heavy accent that Marigold couldn't place. "The wards around the pen keep them from leaving, but every time someone steps in, they get excited."

"How exactly will I make sure that the one I pick listens to me?" Marigold asked, turning to the witch, desperately trying to hold onto about six screaming Nizul that were trying to crawl all over her.

"I have a small ring that you wear for the first few months that works like a beacon to the one you pick out. After a while it won't be necessary, but a lot of people enjoy knowing for sure their friend will come back."

Marigold bent down and several of the Nizul's jumped off her only to scream at her from the floor to pick them back up. The scream was like a high-pitched whine of a dog or a cat, it was strange and Marigold got the sudden urge to pick up all of them.

"What do they eat?" she asked, petting one. The fur was even softer than she imagined. It was so soft that Marigold could swear she wasn't touching anything.

"They can find anything while they are off doing whatever it is they do when they aren't with you. They are incredibly low maintenance pets, I often recommend them to children off at school."

The one Marigold had her eye on poofed in a small puff of bronze smoke and reappeared curled up on her shoulder.

"Are you sure Charlie?" she asked, gently petting it.

"Absolutely, I also talked to mum and dad, they were okay with another owl. I don't see why one of these would be any different."

In the end, Marigold gave in. The witch fitted a small ring onto Marigold's finger. It was a very simple bronze band with similar markings as the ones around the pen etched into it. She then told Marigold that she had picked out a girl Nizul and that that particular one had a very good temperament.

Marigold couldn't thank Charlie enough as they made their way back through the busy streets.

"What are you going to name her?" he asked, ignoring her thousandth thank you.

Marigold stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes growing as big as saucers. What _was_ she going to name her? Charlie just laughed and urged her along to keep her from stopping the flow of traffic.

It wasn't until after dinner, and about a million names being flung at her from the rest of the Weasleys, when she was sitting in bed with it that she came up with a name.

The Nizul was sitting in her lap curled up and breathing softly. Marigold felt happy and calm. Something about her made her feel better than even Huna Wahunak had. Marigold gently picked her up and bright eyes looked back at her.

"What do you think, little Nizul?"

Her big eyes just blinked back at her.

"I can't just keep calling you little Nizul." She just yawned in response. Marigold lowered her down to her chest where she curled up.

Marigold could name it like Harry had named Hedwig, but after thinking through all the cool old witch names she could think of, nothing fit quite right. She could go the route Neville took and just give it a person name like Trevor.

"How about… Rachael?" No response. "Monique?" Nothing. "Sarah? Allie? Kelly? Sophie?" A little chirp came from her chest. Marigold looked down. "Sophie?" Another chirp answered her.

Marigold smiled. Sophie didn't do anything but nuzzle further into her pajamas.


	4. Secrets, Crushes, and Secret Crushes

**Secrets, Crushes, and Secret Crushes**

Marigold absolutely adored Sophie. The two of them were immediately inseparable. Marigold had never had a pet before, not even a goldfish. She supposed there was that one time a ladybug got in the house and she kept it in her room for a few days… until it died.

Sophie could go with her as long as she stayed in Huna Wahunak, but when Marigold and the Weasleys ventured into Muggle Egypt, Sophie had to stay in the hotel room. At first, Marigold was worried that Sophie would be gone when they got back wanting to explore or something, but funny enough, Sophie seemed to not have moved from the spot on Marigold's pillow where she had curled up hours before.

Mr. Weasley kept getting the Daily Prophet, and every morning he could be found pouring over it with a look of deep concern on his face. The Ministry was saying they were doing everything they could to get Sirius Black back in custody, but Mr. Weasley didn't seem too impressed.

Mrs. Weasley did her best to make sure that the younger kids, Marigold included, didn't get the chance to look at the paper. She told them that they didn't need to be concerning themselves about it and that things would be fine.

Marigold and the others finally got their Hogwarts supply lists. She and Ron got a Hogsmeade acceptance form, which Mrs. Weasley happily signed. Marigold was excited about being able to leave Hogwarts some weekends. She had never been to an entirely wizard town before and the stories she had heard from everyone made it sound super fun.

After getting the permission form signed, Marigold took a look at all the books on her list to try and get a sense of what classes she had been assigned. She and Hermione had signed up for every elective, after all, so Marigold had been looking forward to finding out what classes had been decided for her.

Turns out she was going to be taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures, exactly like Harry and Neville were. They weren't the most particularly interesting classes, but she was taking them so that she could be in the same classes as Harry.

Thinking of Harry, Marigold also had a letter from him sitting on the table next to the school lists. She grabbed it and went into the living room and sat down, tearing into the envelope with her nail.

_Marigold,_

_I did something really stupid. Remember how I was telling you my Aunt Marge was coming to visit? Well, I accidently blew her up. Not like exploded, more like a blimp I guess? And after a heated moment with Uncle Vernon, I kind of ran away._

Marigold looked up from the letter and just took a minute to breathe before turning back to the letter and reading the rest.

_I found myself in Diagon Alley and I met __the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge__. I somehow didn't get in trouble for using magic, but for a moment there I thought I was going to have to make a run for it. Imagine me trying to live on the run._

_I'll be staying here in Diagon Alley until school starts. You should come visit me when you get back from Egypt. Neville offered to let me stay with him, but I really like it here. I have a room to myself, and I can go anywhere I want as long as I stay in Diagon Alley. _

_I hope to see you soon, and hear from you even sooner. I have the best ice cream place to take you to when you get back._

_ \- Harry_

Marigold covered her face in her hands and pressed her eyes in until she saw stars. How would she have kept him safe if he _had _been expelled? Rubbing her hands down her face making her eyes stretch, Marigold figured that Dumbledore would have probably expelled her for no reason so she could go be with Harry. Honestly, she thought, the _both_ of them were lucky he wasn't expelled.

Marigold looked down at Sophie who was kneading at her legs affectionately. "How would you like to deliver a letter, Sophie?"

Sophie answered with a happy chirp.

_Harry,_

_ You are so lucky you didn't get expelled. I think if it was anyone other than you, you probably would have been. What did she even do that made you lose control like that?I know she's awful like the rest of your family, and she probably deserved it, but you could have really gotten in trouble. I'm glad you didn't._

_ We should be back in about two weeks. I'm sure the time will fly by for the both of us. I don't know when we will get to Diagon Alley, but when we do we will make sure to meet up with you._

_ By the way, this is Sophie, she's a Nizul. Charlie got her for me for my birthday. She'll stay with you until you write me back, so don't keep her too long!_

_ Love,_

_ Marigold_

When Marigold was done writing her letter she gently picked Sophie up off her shoulder, strands of hair going with her, and placed her on the table. The envelope was as big as she was, but Marigold handed it to her and she took it in her mouth and with a puff of bronze smoke she was gone.

Marigold supposed she knew where to go kind of like an owl did, but didn't look too much into it. It wasn't until after Sophie had poofed off that Marigold wondered if London was too far away.

It was about four hours later while Marigold was out to lunch with the Weasleys that another puff of bronze smoke appeared out of nowhere and Sophie was back. She had toppled over Marigold's glass of water, but she looked so proud of herself, sitting all pretty with a letter in her mouth, that Marigold didn't even mind.

Marigold grabbed the letter and Sophie crawled up her arm and curled up on her shoulder and nibbled on her hair.

_Marigold,_

_Sophie is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. Though I have to admit, she scared me half to death when she popped up out of nowhere._

_I wasn't doing anything with Marge. I was doing my best not to exist because Uncle Vernon said he would sign my Hogsmeade permission form if I was on my best behavior. But then she started insulting my parents, and I didn't mean to, but suddenly she was inflating like a balloon! Her memory has been wiped of course, but I don't think my aunt, uncle, or cousin will forget anytime soon… but she insulted my mum and dad so I don't really care._

_I've already gotten all my books, but when you and Neville get here we should spend the day together. As fun as it is, I don't think I've actually talked to anyone, other than to say good morning or order an ice cream, since I got here._

_Harry_

After lunch, while the others split up and went about their day exploring, Marigold went back to the hotel, picking up a coffee on her way. She spent most of her day curled up on the couch exchanging letters with Harry. She also sent a letter to Neville so she could introduce him to Sophie and bring him into the conversation. He, like everyone else, thought Sophie was absolutely adorable. According to him, Sophie and Trevor got along really well when Sophie wasn't trying to lick the poor toad. With Sophie's help, the three of them were able to communicate like never before. Best of all, Sophie didn't seem to mind or get tired at all. After a few hours of writing back and forth, they worked out a plan to meet Harry in Diagon Alley and go shopping together. Mrs. Weasley sent a letter to Neville's gran just to confirm the date, and things were settled.

After an uneventful dinner, everyone just muttered goodnight and went off to their rooms to promptly fall asleep. Even Marigold, who had stayed in the hotel room all day, was tired enough to fall asleep almost immediately.

Marigold woke up to the busy streets of Egypt right outside her window. Sophie got up from the foot of her bed, and came and snuggled up under the covers. Marigold could hear Ginny's soft snores behind her. Outside her window, the large glass buildings were glittering with the rising sun.

Not wanting to wake Ginny, Marigold got up as quietly as she could and got dressed. She tied her hair up in a bun so she wouldn't get too hot under all of it. The bun was messy, but she didn't care enough to redo it.

Sophie squeaked at her as she tried to leave the room. Marigold shushed her and she just blinked then jumped over to Ginny's bed and curled up with her. As Marigold walked by the closed doors, it was obvious that she was the only one awake. Door to door, each of the Weasleys was snoring at one octave or another. Marigold walked past Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's room and heard the loudest snoring of all. Marigold giggled at the idea of Mrs. Weasley snoring so loud. She could hardly hear Mr. Weasleys snores… hardly.

It wasn't until she was downstairs staring into the fridge that she started feeling kinda gross. Her stomach was rolling at every glance at the food. She was hungry, but every time she reached into the fridge her stomach would lurch into her chest and she would feel like throwing up.

Alright then, nothing from the fridge… The pantry yielded similar results. With a huff, Marigold just gave up. She grabbed a glass of water, but even sipping on that made her feel disgusting.

Marigold sat down at the table with her glass of water wondering why she felt so disgusting. She was sitting there with her head rested on her propped up hand when Charlie walked in.

"What's wrong?" he asked, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Not feeling too good," she said, taking another sip of water.

"Anything I can do?"

"I think I just need to get out. Maybe walking around will help."

"Do you want to walk around Muggle Egypt today?" Charlie asked.

"Sounds good to me," she said.

"Go and get your new hat and I'll leave a note for mum about where we're going."

Marigold put her glass in the sink and went upstairs for her hat. It was a beautiful woven sun hat with a little ribbon that had little black, orange, and yellow flowers on it. When she went back down the hall the smell of sunscreen met her before she even entered the kitchen. Charlie was covered head to toe and fought Marigold about having to put it on. Marigold had always hated putting on sunscreen. It always felt gross on her skin and the smell always made her nauseated. Now, it was just enhancing her already queasy stomach, but Charlie was refusing to leave until she put it on, so she ultimately gave up and put it on.

Feeling sticky from the sunscreen, they left Huna Wahunack behind and found themselves amongst the busy side streets of Muggle Egypt. She was already starting to feel better. Charlie talked to her as they walked, pointing out buildings and people he found fascinating. It was still morning, but the heat was already coming out. It felt good but she knew it would be overwhelming in about an hour or so.

A lot of walking and two overcrowded busses later, they took a break and sat down a little ways from the Nile River on a small bench and just watched as people walked by. Charlie had bought them ice tea and it was sweating down their cups. Marigold didn't think about the fact that they were going to be leaving in only a short amount of time. She didn't think about how she probably wasn't going to see him for a long time.

Instead she just sat there, her hand wet with condensation, and simply enjoyed his presence and the beautiful scene before her. The water looked like it was glittering in the sunlight. There were people all around them, but it felt like they were all alone.

"Can you believe how fast this vacation has flown by?" Charlie asked, reading her thoughts. "Pretty soon I'll be heading back to work, and you'll be off to Hogwarts."

"Are you excited to go back to work?" Marigold asked, sipping her tea.

"Not even a little bit," he laughed, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "Don't get me wrong, I love working with Dragons, but I'm beginning to think the Egyptian sun agrees with me."

Marigold laughed, "I think you're just enjoying sleeping in."

"It could be that," he admitted.

They were quiet for a moment and watched as a group of Muggle tourists passed by, talking loudly and laughing together about something. A little ways away, a little girl kicked a rock and her brother stole it and began kicking it himself. The parents were walking ahead holding each other close and watching the water as they went.

Her vision suddenly got a lot brighter and her head a lot lighter. Marigold turned to Charlie just as he was plopping her hat down on his head. It was _way_ too small for him and he tried to push it down before giving up.

He took a sip of his tea and looked over to her, the brim of the hat shading his eyes. "So! Do you like anyone?" he asked, poking her with his sweaty cup.

"_Charlie!_" she exclaimed, swatting his cup away.

"Hey, I'm your brother, I gotta know these things," he said shrugging, though he had a mischievous smile on his face.

"No, I don't like anyone," she said flatly, though her red cheeks seemed to make him think she was lying.

"What about that dragon kid?" he said, scratching his chin in thought. "Colin Creevey, right?"

"He spent most of the year _petrified_," Marigold said, aghast. "Besides, he's a first year!"

"He'll be a second year soon," Charlie said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Nope, I don't like anyone, and no one likes me."

"Ohhh!" he said, poking her arm with the cup again, "I think you're wrong!"

"What do you mean?" she asked, taking a sip of tea and desperately trying to act casual.

"Ginny told me you got a love letter on Valentine's Day."

"SHE TOLD YOU _WHAT_!?" Marigold screeched, coughing on her tea.

Charlie threw his head back laughing, his hand on her hat to keep it from tumbling off. Marigold crossed her arms, scowling even as she was blushing madly.

"Do you know who it was from?" he asked.

"No," she mumbled, looking away and wiping tea from her chin.

"Did you keep it?"

"… Yes."

He laughed loudly and she blushed even more. "Who do you think it was? Could it have been Harry? Ooohhhhh what if it was Nevi-"

"I didn't recognize the handwriting!" she said, quickly cutting him off. "Besides, Harry's like my brother!"

"Is there anyone you want it to be?" he asked, poking her with his cup once again.

Marigold made a mad grab for the cup but he pulled it away last second. "Come on Charlie, I have way too much going on to worry about nonsense like that." She crossed her arms and gave up on the cup.

"Nonsense, huh? I felt the same way when I was your age," he said, plopping her hat back down on her head. "I spent all my time researching dragons and trying to sneak into the forbidden forest."

Marigold looked up at him from under the brim. "Are you going to tell me you regret it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Regret it?" he laughed. "Not a chance."

"Then why are you teasing me over a little valentine?" she said, gently smacking him on the shoulder.

"Ginny wanted to know more about it and thought maybe I could get an answer," he said shrugging.

Marigold's jaw dropped. "_Traitor!_" she laughed, taking off her hat and smacking him with it over and over.

"Come on, she's desperate to know!" Charlie said, trying to keep her from hitting him.

"Well in that case," Marigold said, putting her hat back on her head after one more swat, "let's make up some juicy gossip."

Charlie's eyes twinkled and a smile more mischievous than even that of the twins appeared on his face. "Let's do it!"

Marigold's stomach rumbled loudly in response and they laughed. "Let's figure it out over lunch then," she said.

They found a restaurant after walking down a street and sat down under a blue and white striped umbrella. While they waited for their food they pondered what the best story could be. They toyed with the idea of it being one of hers and Ginny's mutual friends, but figured that if it had been from a secret admirer that would be better.

"Oh my god, Charlie. What if it was sent anonymously but context clues made it so that I could tell it was from Crabbe," she said excitedly as the waiter put their plates in front of them.

"Thank you," Charlie said before turning back to Marigold. "Isn't that one of Malfoy's friends?"

Marigold laughed. "He is! Malfoy actually also sent a valentine, but it was really gross and the boys tore it up and set it on fire."

"Sounds like something those two would do," Charlie said fondly. "Alright, so the valentine was anonymously sent from Crabbe, what else should I tell Ginny?"

"Tell her…" Marigold thought for a moment, looking hard at her food. "Tell her that it was incredibly poorly written, but that the sentiment was there and now I have a secret crush on Crabbe."

Charlie choked on his drink. "Oh my god, what if I tell her that you got all blushy and even teary eyed because the two of you can never be together!"

"Yes! Tell her that I got all whimsical before making you promise not to tell a soul."

"She's not going to believe me," Charlie said, wiping his eyes on his towel.

"Yeah, well she shouldn't have tried to get the information through you in the first place," Marigold said with a shrug. "She could have just asked."

"Like you would have told her," Charlie teased. "I saw how red you got talking about the real note."

"Drop it," Marigold warned, but she could feel her cheeks burning yet again.

"Alright, alright," he said grinning.

Charlie insisted on getting dessert when the waiter came back by, but Marigold only agreed if he promised he would let her pay for it since he was buying lunch. He was reluctant to do so, but the waiter brought out the dessert menu and Charlie agreed.

"So," Marigold said after the waiter placed their dessert in front of them, "you said before that you didn't have time for crushes when you were in school, but what about now at work?" Marigold asked, taking a sip of water.

"My dear sweet sister," Charlie said, taking the spoon out of his mouth. "I work with Dragons. Living, breathing, _dragons_."

"That is fair," Marigold said nodding.

After eating, the two of them meandered about the busy streets with no real goal or plan. It was a blast and hands down the best day of the trip so far. They were out and about doing nothing but walking and laughing.

They happened upon a small museum and walked around looking at all the artifacts. Marigold and the Weasleys had been to another museum earlier in the trip, but this one was different. It was small and dimly lit, and unlike the magical museum, this one was full of Muggle artifacts. It was incredible. The museum they had gone to as a family had artifacts that radiated magic, ut at this museum, the artifacts radiated a different kind of magic. Not the tangible kind, but the artistic, beautiful kind.

Eventually, after being in the museum for what felt like only ten minutes, they realized if they didn't head back they were going to run the risk of facing the wrath of Mr. Weasley. They had to make a mad dash to catch a bus all the while yelling about how they had managed to spend the whole day in such a small museum.

Huna Wahunak was still busy, but had cleared out significantly from when they had left. Up in the hotel room, Mrs. Weasley was starting on dinner. After washing up, the two of them offered to help her out. Cooking with Charlie was much more difficult than cooking with just Mrs. Weasley. He kept trying to get her to drop vegetables and nearly succeeded before Mrs. Weasley caught on.

At one point she and Marigold left the kitchen to set the table, and when Marigold got back to finish washing the dishes, she didn't notice until too late that the sink had been tampered with. Soaked all down her front, Marigold filled a glass of water and splashed Charlie, who had been too doubled over laughing to realize what she had been up to. Mrs. Weasley quickly shooed the both of them out of the kitchen with only mild chastising.

Dinner was delicious and lively. Everyone talked about their days like always. Bill, who had managed to get off a little early, was able to tell them that McCarthy was finally able to reverse the curse and could see again. When Marigold went down the hall to bed she was full and feeling better than she had in a long time.

Ginny went right to bed after saying goodnight, but Marigold was still wide awake after having such a wonderful day. She headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower letting the room get steamy before stepping in.

It had been one of the best days and she was incredibly happy. She wished she could stay here in Huna Wahunack forever. She closed her eyes and leaned back into the water, letting it pour over her face. She wished she could stay with Charlie forever. He was one of her closest friends… her brother really, truly.

When was the last time she had laughed that much? She couldn't wait to hear how Ginny reacted to everything. That was sure to be another laugh. She was truly happy.

Lockhart's face appeared in her mind, except he didn't have a face. No eyes, no nose, just his hair.

Marigold opened her eyes and the hot water burned them. She covered her eyes with her hands, blinking to try to get the water out. Even as she tried to relieve the pain, a part of her wondered if she deserved relief. _Did she really deserve to be this happy?_

The steam was suddenly making it hard to breathe and the water that had just been so warm and comforting was now stinging and painful. She could feel her hair getting tangled from the water pressure.

It had been the perfect day! Why did she have to ruin it? Because it was her fault and she couldn't forget that, no matter how good of a day she had.

Marigold sat down on the shower tiles and just let the water hit her back. Things had been going great, so of course she had to be reminded of the bad again. That's how these things worked right? Marigold pulled her knees close to her chest and buried her face.

Robin egg blue robes and a crooked grin crossed her mind, and she pressed her hands into her eyes until the stars disappeared and the pressure hurt. Curled up in the shower she felt incredibly alone. The vastness of Huna Wahunack just outside the bathroom and the world outside all that got to her… she didn't have a single person to talk to about all this. To talk about Lockhart, the duel, the pain… the promise.

Sure she had Charlie, but he had already given her all the advice he could… if she told him about the duel…

Feeling empty, Marigold got up and turned off the shower. She dried herself off and brushed her hair. Back at her bed, she just sat on top of the covers and looked out the window. Her bare feet barely touched the floor.

The faint sound of cars and busses made its way into their silent bedroom. Sophie appeared from Ginny's bed and curled up on her lap. Marigold mindlessly braided her damp hair while she looked out at the tall buildings and all the people living their lives. Everything was quiet and peaceful… but she wasn't a part of it.

Marigold dropped her hair mid-braid and the buildings grew blurry. Angry at herself for wallowing in her own pity, she wiped her eyes and placed Sophie on her pillow. She tiptoed past Ginny's bed and closed the door softly behind her.

She knew she wasn't thinking clearly and she was only vaguely aware that she had even left her room. She could be happy here in Huna Wahunack. She could disappear into the side streets and cease to exist. After a while, she could call for Sophie… the two of them could live here.

Before she knew it, her hand was resting on the doorknob in the living room and the latch was open. She wasn't wearing any shoes and she was in her pajamas. She didn't even have her wand.

Her fingers curled around the doorknob and she was crying again. She pressed her forehead on the cool door. She could make do here. _Harry would die_. Why was that her problem? Why was it up to _her_ to make sure he didn't die? Surely Dumbledore could figure something out! _The Weasleys have been good to you._ They would be fine without her. _What about Charlie? Neville? What about when Voldemort comes back?_

The world wasn't her problem.

Marigold ripped the door open and stared into the empty hallway. It was empty and even in the heat of Egypt it felt cold. Marigold's shoulders relaxed and she closed the door. She loved everyone and if she disappeared nothing would matter anymore. She locked the door again and, with a heavy sigh, let go of the doorknob.

Feeling worse than ever before, she turned around to go to bed only to find herself face to face with a shadow.

"Ginny?" she whimpered, taking a step back.

"Were you going to leave?" Ginny asked, her voice full of sleepy confusion. "I heard you crying, and then you left." Marigold watched as Ginny's shadow rubbed its eyes.

"I-"

"You don't have to leave, you know. You can always talk to me."

Marigold's face crumpled and she buried her face in her hands. Ginny silently padded over and Marigold felt herself being pulled in a hug. Ginny had grown at some point… she wasn't taller than Marigold, but she was taller than before. Marigold dropped her hands and just held on tight.

"Do you want me to get mum and dad?" Ginny asked softly, patting her back. Marigold violently shook her head. "How about Charlie?" Marigold shook her head again.

Ginny let go of her and gently grabbed her tear soaked hand. "Let's go back to the room," she whispered. "We don't have to talk or anything, but I think a blanket and Sophie will help."

"Okay," she said, her voice cracking.

Marigold let Ginny lead her back to their room, their bare feet making barely any noise on the hardwood floor. Ginny sat her down, wrapped her in a blanket like a burrito, plopped Sophie in her lap, and sat down next to her.

"Ginny, it's all my fault," she sniffled. "I never should have-"

"Marigold, if you keep up with that attitude it's going to kill you," Ginny said sternly. Marigold gulped in surprise. "If you keep going over all the things you could have done differently, you are going to go mad."

"But I-"

"Marigold, I could have done so much differently," Ginny whispered. "I could have tossed the diary earlier and nobody would have gotten hurt. I could have listened to dad's advice and nobody would have died. There are so many things we could have done differently, but we didn't and we have to live with that."

"Ginny," Marigold protested. "You were-"

"Possessed?" she said. "Yeah, I was, and people got hurt. But you know what, that wasn't me, it was Tom."

"T-Tom didn't get Professor Lockhart killed," Marigold said miserably. "I did."

"Marigold, all of this is _his_ fault."

"I kidnapped him," Marigold argued. "I could have left him in his office. I didn't have to take him with us."

"Marigold, I was unconscious and dying. I don't know what happened, but I know it's not your fault. You saved me. You saved Harry. If anyone gets to pull the _it's all my fault_ card, it would be me. As the person who actually gets to say it's all their fault, I am telling you it's not your fault."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Maybe not," Ginny admitted, "but then again, I don't really know how these things work. I need to hold on to the fact that I was possessed and not at fault for any of this, or I'm going to lose it. I don't know what you can hold on to, but it's not your fault any of this happened."

"I thought you just said you got to say it's all your fault?"

"Marigold, it both is and it isn't," she said, running her hands through her hair. "I think it can be both."

"None of this is making sense," Marigold said.

"So? I don't think it should make sense yet. Barely any time has passed. It would be incredible if we had figured it out by now. I don't know what I'm doing and I am in no position to be giving advice. I just know you are a good person and I care about you and I really don't want you to go nuts over this."

"I wish this was the only thing on my mind," Marigold sighed. "But it's _everything_. I don't have anyone to talk to about it because it's so much and I'm the only one who knows about a lot of it."

"It's funny," Ginny said.

"What is?"

"I don't have anyone to talk to about my things… I talked to _him_ all last year. And the sick, twisted thing is that… sometimes I miss him."

"That's not very funny."

Ginny laughed. "It isn't, is it." She turned to look out the window, the reflections of the buildings making her eyes sparkle. "I don't know what your everything is, but I'm always here. You can always talk to me."

It was Marigold's turn to laugh. She shrugged off the blanket and wiped her eyes. "Now I feel like an asshole."

"Why?" Ginny asked, looking away from the window, a puzzled look on her face.

"Because Charlie and I were going to pull a prank on you," Marigold said with a crooked half-smile.

"Oh my god," Ginny said after Marigold had explained what she and Charlie had planned. "I absolutely _would not_ have believed him!" she giggled. "I don't know if you know this yet, but Charlie can't lie. He's worse than Ron. His nose does this twitchy thing and it's a dead giveaway. Not to mention, Crabbe? Really?"

Marigold smiled. "Do you want to see the actual valentine?"

"You have it with you?" she asked. "Yes!" she said, her hands slapping her knees in anticipation.

Marigold handed Sophie to Ginny and went over to the closet where she had been keeping her pouch. She rummaged around for her planner then brought it back to the bed and tossed it to Ginny. By window light, Marigold could see Ginny's eyes as she read and reread the note.

"This is super sweet," she said, handing Marigold the planner which she placed on her end table. "It makes the one I wrote for Harry look stupid."

"Oh come on now," Marigold said, turning back to her. "If it hadn't been sung by the silly cupid in front of everyone, I'm pretty sure he would have cherished it forever. He's like that."

"He is, isn't he… You know, I don't just like him because he's famous. I think he's a really great guy. I know he's a good friend to you and Neville."

"This is the first time you told me you like him," Marigold said.

"Yeah, well, you knew anyway…" she said with a shrug.

"I did," Marigold said.

They were quiet for a minute. Ginny was absentmindedly petting Sophie whose eyes were all squinty while her ears were happily twitching. Marigold messed with the blanket. She noticed Ginny shivver, and while she wasn't sure if she was cold or if it was something else, she tossed some of the blanket to her, covering Sophie a little in the process. Sophie made an angry chirp from under the blanket and Ginny smiled. Sophie popped up from under the blanket and Marigold could feel her annoyed glare.

"You know," Ginny whispered, pulling the blanket close. "I wasn't sure what to make of you when you first came to live with us. It all happened very suddenly, and none of us really knew what was going on. I don't think mum and dad even really knew.

"I was home that first year you were at Hogwarts. I overheard them talking about you sometimes…" Ginny smiled. "They really love you. And I, personally, am really happy to finally have a sister."

Marigold beamed.


	5. The Right Choice

Marigold opened her eyes to sunlight filling the room. She looked over at Ginny who was passed out in her bed with the covers all over the place. How was it that Ginny always managed to create such a mess in her sleep? Marigold's eyes were puffy but she felt a lot better.

Rubbing the crust from her eyes, Marigold swung her legs out from under the warmth of the covers and went to wash her face. By the time she got back, Ginny was awake and looking out the window. She looked incredibly tired, and her eyes kept slowly closing and blinking awake. She caught sight of Marigold and sat up.

"I'm going to miss having this window," she said, her voice cracking a little.

"Me too," Marigold said, trying not to giggle at how messy Ginny's hair was.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked, scratching her head.

"Much," she said, smiling.

"I'm glad."

"I'm going to tell Charlie not to go through with the prank."

"Don't do that," Ginny said, her eyes widening.

Marigold raised her eyebrows, "Why not?"

"I'm going to convince him that I believe him about you liking Crabbe."

"Well, alright then," she said, pointing to the door, "I'm going to go get some breakfast."

Ginny smiled and waved her out of the room. "I'm going to take a shower, but I'll meet you down there. Would you want to go exploring later today?"

"Sure, there's a really cool bookshop that I would like to show you… Though, to be honest, I'm not quite sure if it was real or not."

Marigold left the room wondering if all the Weasleys had the same mischievous trait, and if Fred and George were the only ones who just fully embraced it.

As the days went by, their eminent journey home was weighing heavy on Marigold's mind. She was anxious about returning to Hogwarts, and really wished she could just stay in Huna Wahunak forever. She didn't try to leave again and felt really guilty about having tried to do so in the first place. It had been a moment of weakness, and it couldn't happen again no matter how beautiful and safe and easy life here seemed to be.

Marigold didn't seem to be the only one who didn't want to return home. Mr. Weasley had been notified that the moment he returned from his vacation, he was to go straight into work. Marigold only found out about it because she had overheard the two adults talking about it.

Charlie knew he had a lot of work stacking up on his desk, so the closer they got to going home, the more stressed he looked. Percy was the worst. He seemed more snippy and agitated than ever before.

The days blended together and Marigold couldn't tell what she had done the day before other than it had been fun. Before she knew it, it was the night before they were set to head home and Mr. Weasley was warning them that they had better get packed because he was checking in an hour and whatever wasn't packed, was staying.

Marigold had her endless space pouch, so she was able to just stuff everything in that. It seemed like Percy and Mrs. Weasley were the only two who had thought ahead to save space in their suitcases for souvenirs. Everyone, even a shifty eyed and guilty looking Mr. Weasley, asked her if her pouch could fit one or two of their things.

After packing, everyone got together in the living room and headed to dinner. They made their way to the little Muggle restaurant they had gone to their first day in Egypt. They met Bill, who was all sweaty from work, and had a wonderful dinner. Bill had to be back at work first thing in the morning, so he wasn't going to be able to see them off. The night ended on a bittersweet note as they parted ways not quite sure when they would be seeing him again.

She had gotten used to the heat here, and late August-early September was always rainy back in Ottery St. Catchpole. They were heading back with only a week before heading off on the Hogwarts Express, and while she was excited to see Harry and Neville, she was sad to be leaving. Marigold fell asleep looking out the window at the skyline. It was magical here… a different kind of magic then at home or even at Hogwarts.

Marigold and the others woke up bright and early to Mrs. Weasley pounding on their doors to get up. Groggy and still half asleep, Marigold grabbed her pouch, said goodbye to her window, and met everyone in the kitchen. The trek through Huna Wahunack was quick… too quick for her liking.

The bored looking wizard in the lobby of Globus Mundi let them say their goodbyes in the lobby, though he looked as though he wished they would all just leave.

After hugging everyone and saying his goodbyes, Charlie stopped in front of Marigold with a smile. He wrapped her up in a hug and whispered in her ear, "I don't know how, but Ginny totally bought our story. It might actually be a problem because she said she was going to try and set you and Crabbe up on a date."

Marigold fought back a smile and squeezed him back. "How about that," she mused. "Maybe it's meant to be."

Charlie let go and laughed. "You could do so much better."

"Nah, not interested in any of it, meant to be or not," she said grinning up at him.

"Try and stay out of trouble this year, won't you?" he asked, ruffling up her hair.

Marigold grimaced. "I can't make any promises, but I'll definitely try."

He scratched Sophie under the chin. "Don't forget to write," he told her

"Not a chance."

When Marigold stepped out of the fireplace in Diagon Alley, it felt like the heat of Egypt had been zapped out of her. Sophie didn't seem to mind that it was as chilly as it was, but Marigold supposed she had been here a few times and had probably gotten used to it. The trip back to the Burrow was uneventful, spare the fact that Mr. Weasley didn't accompany them. Much to Mrs. Weasley's chagrin, he had kissed her on the cheek and had headed off to work.

It was about seven in the morning when Mrs. Weasley unlocked the front door and they had finally made it home. Ginny and Ron looked incredibly tired, so when they said they were off to bed nobody was really surprised. Marigold had wanted to show Sophie around the house, but the moment Sophie had seen Marigold's bed, she had curled up and wouldn't move.

Rolling her eyes, Marigold tossed her pouch on the desk, vowing to unpack later, and went downstairs to see what cleaning Mrs. Weasley needed help with. They had been gone for most of the summer and the house seemed to have accumulated dust and unsupervised gnomes had infested the garden. Mrs. Weasley tried to protest her help, saying she should spend her last week of summer doing what she wanted, but Marigold insisted.

The two of them made their way through the house, and even though Marigold couldn't use magic to clean, she was just as busy. They finished within two days of hard, grueling work, and Mrs. Weasley had never been happier, though she had then insisted that Marigold really go out and enjoy her last few days.

Marigold, not really knowing what else to do with herself, went down to the little Muggle village and found that over the summer not one of the families had bothered to mow their lawns or even water the flowers. She had told everyone she was going on a trip too!

Marigold was up to her ears in grass clippings and her nails had so much dirt under them that it looked like a reverse manicure, but it was worth it. She got paid well and all the kids that she oversaw from time to time were really happy to have her back again. She was in better shape than ever from running around Huna Wahunack, and was so busy that she didn't have time to think about Hogwarts until it was staring at her in the face.

It was Monday night and they were headed to school in two days. Mr. Weasley had just returned home from the office when they sat down to dinner and he made an announcement.

"Tomorrow morning we are headed to Diagon Alley. Pack your trunks, we won't be returning home in the meantime. I have gotten us rooms and we will go from the Leaky Cauldron to Kings Cross first thing Wednesday morning."

Marigold had never actually unpacked her pouch, she had given everyone their things back, but she hadn't touched it at all since. She spent most of the night switching her vacation things to her school things. She found her planner down toward the bottom under her slightly crumpled sunhat and found that just like last year, it had cleared itself out. The valentine was still there and Marigold sat down on her bed and just looked at it for a while. It wasn't until Ginny knocked on her door that she quickly stuffed it back in the pouch.

Ginny flopped down on the bed face first and Marigold chuckled. Sophie, who had been sitting on the desk looking out the window at the gnomes in the garden, jumped up and went and curled up on Ginny's back.

"You feeling alright?" Marigold asked.

Ginny moved her face so she wasn't smothering herself in the comforter anymore. "I'm not excited to go back."

Marigold pulled the desk chair over and sat down on it backward, resting her chin on the headrest. "I thought you would be excited about setting me up with Crabbe," she joked.

Ginny smiled a little but then it fell off her face and her eyes got tired. "What if people hate me?" she whispered.

"They aren't going to hate you. Nobody knows what really happened other than he died saving us." Marigold grimaced. "They think he's a hero and we were just being dumb kids. Luckily we didn't lose any points…"

"What if they blame-"

"They think he's a hero," Marigold repeated. "Nobody is going to give it a second thought. I promise."

"How about the fact that most of the year is pretty fuzzy?"

"Classes included?" Ginny nodded. "Well, you are incredibly lucky that I am very good in school. I can help you with everything you don't remember, and we can work together on your new school work too."

"Just like last year?" she asked.

"Just like last year," Marigold promised. "But this time, if you start ditching study sessions, I'm going to give you extra work."

"It's a deal!" Ginny said, sitting up fast. "Oh no!" she squealed as Sophie fell off her back and hit the bed.

Marigold just laughed as Sophie glared at Ginny. "She's fine," Marigold reassured her as the cloud of bronze smoke dissipated.

"So, I managed to convince Charlie that I believed him?" she asked, pulling her knees close to her chest.

"You absolutely did. When we were saying goodbye, he seemed kind of worried about it actually."

"Oh come on, like I'd set you up with anyone behind your back."

"Seeing as there is no one I want to be set up with, I really appreciate that."

Ginny frowned, "Is there really no one?"

Marigold shook her head. "I am much too busy for that nonsense. Not to say it's nonsense, but, well, I'm busy."

"Saving the world every year seems pretty exhausting."

"I'm not a hero," Marigold protested.

"Yeah, yeah you are. You're one of mine after all."

Marigold didn't know what to say. She wasn't a hero, at least she didn't think she was. She was just doing what she thought was right… though she could see what Ginny was talking about if she squinted hard enough.

The next morning, everyone was dressed and ready to go bright and early. They made their way to Diagon Alley as a group. Compared to Huna Wahunak, Diagon Alley was small and cramped. Marigold found it amazing that three years ago, when she had been brought here by Professor McGonagall, she had thought it was the biggest, most crowded place in the whole world.

They went to Gringotts first, and met up with Hermione and her parents. Mrs. Weasley had invited Hermione to stay with them at the Leaky Cauldron and to take her to Kings Cross, and like planned, Hermione had her trunk with her. Hermione paired off with Ron, and Marigold split off from the group after a quick promise that she would be at the Leaky Cauldron before dinner.

She grabbed her third year scholarship money from her vault and had her Muggle money exchanged. Harry had told her what room he was staying in a while ago, so with that destination in mind, Marigold made her way to the Leaky Cauldron. She passed by Fred and George who were keenly peering down Knockturn Alley and hurried along figuring the less she knew about whatever _that_ plan was, the better.

Ginny was with Percy and really didn't look happy about it, but he had promised Mrs. Weasley that he would help her with her shopping so she was stuck. Marigold knew better than to make eye contact for fear of being dragged along as well.

Five minutes later, Marigold was knocking on Harry's door. It opened immediately and Marigold found herself face to face with Neville.

"Marigold!" he yelled, pulling her into a hug.

She could hear Harry laughing and closing the door, but wasn't able to see him until Neville finally let go.

"Blimey, Marigold, look at you!" Neville said moving back from their hug to look at her properly.

"What?" she asked, confused. "Do I look weird?"

"You're nothing but freckles!" Harry said, quickly hugging her.

Marigold looked at herself in Harry's vanity. They were right, instead of getting a nice tan like Ginny and Charlie had, Marigold had exploded with about a million more freckles than before. She had had a fair few to begin with, but now they were everywhere! Standing next to Neville and Harry, she noticed she had also grown a little bit over the summer, about half an inch. And her _hair,_ it was really, really long.

Harry was really thin again, and his hair was even more unkempt. He looked happy though, living here in Diagon Alley for a few weeks seemed to agree with him. Neville looked the same as ever, maybe a little taller though. His blonde hair had gotten longer, but it was way tidier than Harry's.

"Where's Sophie?" Neville asked.

"Not sure," she said, "she was gone when I woke up."

"Should we go shopping then?" Harry asked, looking between the two of them.

Harry had bought all his things shortly after arriving, but he accompanied Marigold and Neville, leading the way as if he had always lived there. As they walked, they couldn't help but notice all the wanted posters for Sirius Black.

"Wow, I hadn't seen him before," Marigold said, pausing in front of one of the posters. "Mrs. Weasley made sure us younger kids didn't get the chance to read the paper. He really does look mad, doesn't he?"

Sirius Black was staring back at them from the poster. He had sunken eyes that looked haunted and dead, and gave Marigold a cold shiver. The skin on his face was worse, it was sallow and stretched so tight on his skull that it could very well just be exposed bone. His hair was a tattered mess of a black rats nest.

He just stared at them, unmoving. It was incredibly unsettling, every other picture she had seen would move and talk. But much like a Muggle photo, his was absolutely still. It didn't seem like he was even breathing, and those dark eyes didn't blink.

"Mr. Weasley told me he was a follower of Voldemort," she said, somehow unable to look away from the picture. "But he didn't say what he did to land himself in Azkaban."

"I've been hearing a lot about him around Diagon Alley," Harry said. "Everyone is talking in hushed whispers or worried voices."

"Well, nobody's escaped before," Neville said.

"But what did he do?" Marigold asked, finally ripping her eyes from the photo, her stomach queasy.

"He murdered a lot of people," Harry said, turning to her, his voice quiet and ominous. "A lot of Muggles and another wizard… apparently they had been friends or something. I was returning to the Leaky Cauldron a little after dark- the shops are lit up at night- and a witch stumbled out with a man doing his best to hold her up. She was muttering to him about Black and what he did. Apparently all they found of the other wizard was a finger."

"Let's go, looking at him is giving me chills," Neville said.

Marigold shivered despite herself. "Alright, should we go back to the Leaky Cauldron then? I have presents!" Marigold exclaimed.

"As promising as presents are," Harry said, and Neville's face fell a little, "let's get ice cream on the way back."

Neville's face lit up and Marigold's stomach grumbled.

Harry led the way to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor and introduced them to the owner by the same name. He was a nice man who had apparently heard everything about her and Neville from Harry. He gave them a free scoop of ice cream since Harry had become a regular. Neville got butternut toffee and Marigold got rose pistachio. Harry asked for the regular, and smiling, Florean scooped the biggest scoop of double chocolate ice cream Marigold had ever seen. It had jet black streaks of fudge running through it.

By the time they got back to Harry's room, Neville had ice cream covering his face and a couple spots on his shirt. He disappeared into the bathroom to clean up. Marigold hadn't been in Harry's room long enough before to realize just how unkempt it was. Harry seemed to notice her looking around and, flushing bright red, scrambled around the room grabbing dirty socks and a suspicious clump of fabric that looked like several pairs of underwear. Marigold set down her bags of school supplies next to Neville's and joined the two of them on the king-size bed.

Stretching her whole arm into her pouch, it took a lot of rummaging around before pulling their gifts out.

"I completely forgot to wrap them," Marigold said a little guiltily. "Here you go, Harry."

Harry turned the rag over in his hands, "Thanks?"

Marigold laughed, "It's for your glasses. It's guaranteed to get rid of smudges with one swipe, and even repair scratches!"

"This will be great before Quidditch- woah, look!"

The three of them leaned in to take a look at Harry's glasses. The lenses looked brand new!

"Try it on the frames, Harry," Neville suggested.

Sure enough, the dents and scratches from years of use melted away.

Marigold gave Neville his book next. She told them about the weird little shop and the kid running it. She also told them that no matter how hard she tried, she had been unable to find the shop again. The only thing that made it real and not a figment of her imagination was the book itself, and even that wasn't super convincing.

Neville got a new cauldron from Harry since he had scorched his the year before. Apparently he had been complaining all summer to Harry about the fact that his grandmother wasn't going to replace it and that he was just going to have to try and use one of the old school cauldrons. It was one of the higher end cauldrons, and Marigold hoped it had temperature regulations built in.

Neville had gotten Harry a gigantic box of assorted candy that Marigold and Harry had never seen before. Harry seemed incredibly excited to try everything. Harry tossed the two of them some blue licorice, and after they ate it, they had bubbles coming out of their mouth for a solid five minutes. Harry had pushed them all off his bed as the bubbles started popping and exploding vibrant gold glitter confetti that was getting everywhere.

"Did Fred and George make this?" Marigold laughed, as bubbles spewed from her mouth.

Harry dribbled suds as an answer, the confetti getting all over his shirt and pants.

When the bubbles finally stopped, they helped Harry brush off his bed, and then it was Marigold's turn. Harry tossed her a small blue bag with a silver string. Inside Marigold found a small bronze chain with a triangle pendant on it. Turning it over, she noticed _Sophie _etched into the pendant in beautiful cursive.

"It's for Sophie, it's a collar. My neighbor Miss. Fig had them on all her cats. I figured you might want one for Sophie. It's also a triangle like your locket so the two of you can match."

"This is great! I never even thought to get her one! And it's bronze like the smoke when she Disapparates!" Marigold exclaimed. She wished Sophie were back so she could put it on her.

"It looks big, but the witch who sold it to me told me it was enchanted so that it would fit her, and as she grows it will grow with her. It's also enchanted so that if it gets caught on something it will break off so Sophie doesn't choke or get stuck, but then it will just reappear on her when she's safe."

"That's so cool! Thank you, Harry."

Neville tossed Marigold another small bag, this one was green with silver string.

"Harry helped me with this early this morning, so it's really from both of us," Neville said blushing.

Inside the pouch Marigold found an even smaller pouch. It was brown burlap, but somehow had a sparkle to it, like the burlap was woven with glittery string. It smelled like Egypt. So much so that she could swear she was back in her hotel in Huna Wahunak. But there was something more, a familiar and nice smell that made her feel safe and warm.

"What is it?" she asked, looking up at the two of them.

Neville and Harry exchanged glances.

"It's supposed to promote healing and a good night sleep. You put it under your pillow or next to your bed. We watched the shopkeep make it, she put a lot of stuff we didn't recognize in it," Neville explained.

"What does it smell like?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean? Can't you smell it?" she asked, confused. It wasn't overpowering, but they definitely should be able to smell it.

Harry and Neville shook their heads.

"It was made for you, even the lady who made it was curious what it would smell like."

"It's different for everyone, apparently," Harry added.

"It smells like Egypt, but there's something else too. I can't quite place it. Like an old house and old wallpaper? But there's dirt too, and the smell of wood polish. It's all very confusing, but it all somehow works together too. It's very nice, thank you."

"My gran got me one once when I was really little," Neville said, his cheeks still rosy. "It smelled like spiced flowers. It lasted until I didn't need it anymore."

"Well, with this I think I will sleep soundly. To be completely honest, I miss Egypt a lot and this smells like Huna Wahunak."

"Tell us about Egypt," Harry said.

So Marigold did. The two of them sat, enthralled, as she talked and talked about exploring Huna Wahunak, meeting Nawra, seeing the pyramids, all of it. Well, not all of it. She left out the prank on Ginny, not wanting to talk about the valentine with them, and she definitely didn't tell them about her attempt to run away. She did, however, talk _at length_ about all the food she ate.

"Quick game, Neville," Harry said, interrupting her after ten minutes of explaining one lamb dish that she was craving. "Which do you suppose Marigold misses more, Egypt, you know, the place? Or the one curry she ate that one time at that one place?"

Neville scratched his chin.

"Oh come on, guys," she said, blushing madly.

"I'm going to have to go with that one curry dish," Neville answered.

Marigold grinned and grabbed a pillow and smacked both of them. Honestly she never should have done that, because the next half hour was spent hitting each other with Harry's pillows and running around the room trying not to get hit. They only stopped when Harry missed Marigold and hit the bedpost making his pillow explode into a million feathers

They all froze before bursting into laughter.

"Do you think that's going on my tab, or do you suppose that the Minister of Magic will cover it?" Harry asked through tears.

Marigold and Neville wheezed in response.

Later that night, after Neville had gone back home with his gran, promising to save them a seat on the Hogwarts Express, Marigold, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys all sat in the Leaky Cauldron and had dinner. Hermione was staying with Ginny and Marigold. Her parents had to go back home and go to work early the next morning, so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley promised they would get her to the Hogwarts Express.

Tom, the innkeeper, had pulled tables together and everyone made their way through five courses of food.

Hermione and Ron had gone to the pet shop and gotten Scabbers some rat tonic, and Hermione had come out with a gigantic fluffy cat that Ron absolutely detested. Marigold found Crookshanks the cat adorable, and promised that when Sophie returned from wherever she was she would introduce her to Hermione.

"How are we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred asked as everyone was digging into a chocolate fudge pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," he said.

Everyone looked up from their pudding.

"Why?" Percy asked curiously.

"It's because of you Perce," George said seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them—"

"—for Humongous Bighead," Fred said.

Everyone but Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding. He was trying to be discrete, but even Mr. Weasley was grinning.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a rather dignified, haughty voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," Mr. Weasley said, "and as I work there, they are doing me a favor…"

His voice was casual, but his ears had gone red just like Ron's did when he was under pressure.

"Good thing too," Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've got between you? A nice sight you would all be on the Muggle Underground… You're all packed, aren't you?"

There were a lot of mumbles in response. Marigold took that moment to quickly say goodnight and help Hermione bring all of her luggage and shopping up to their room.

They curled up on their individual twin beds and Hermione told them about her trip to France with her parents, and Marigold and Ginny talked about their time in Egypt. Everyone stayed up a lot later than they should have, but eventually they all fell asleep. Marigold found it really easy to drift off to sleep with the small pouch Neville and Harry had gotten her.

Marigold woke up an hour or so later after a soft pop and small paws on her face alerted her that Sophie was back with a small letter in her mouth.

"Where have you been?" Maigold whispered as she placed the letter on her pillow and scooped up Sophie.

Marigold grabbed the collar Harry had given her, noticing that Crookshanks, who was curled up on Hermione's bed, was looking at her. She clasped the collar around Sophie's neck, doing her best to ignore the bright yellow eyes. Sophie wiggled her big ears and the name tag jingled a little bit, which made her freeze in alarm.

Marigold giggled a little bit and scratched her ears. Sophie pawed at the dangling tag in confusion. Marigold scooped her up close and placed her on her shoulder, which Marigold had leard was where Sophie prefered to be.

As quietly as she could, Marigold ripped open the letter. Her eyes had long since adjusted to the dark of the hotel room, and the ink was dark.

_Marigold,_

_I'm sorry it took me so long to write to you. I had a pile of work up to my ears when I got back and three dragons hatched while I was away. I was thinking of writing to you when I got home for the day. Sophie was curled up on my couch just minding her own business. I nearly sat on her because she blended into the fabric so well. She didn't have a letter, so I'm not sure how she found me or if you are missing her._

_But her pawing at my leg and then trying to eat my hair encouraged me to just take a minute and write to you. I hope things are going well. You are going back to Hogwarts tomorrow, and I know you are stressed about going back. Just remember that I'm always here for you, and that you can always write to me. _

_Missing you every day,_

_Charlie_

Charlie's letter had meant well, but no magical pouch of nice smelling things could help her get back to sleep now that her mind was racing. Hogwarts was just a few hours and a long train ride away. Marigold laid back down in bed. Sophie jumped off her shoulder and curled up on her chest.

Instinctually she looked over, but the window wasn't there, just two yellow eyes staring back at her. She turned back to the ceiling and felt the tears on her face before she even knew she was sad. Was she crying about the window or the fact that all her responsibilities had finally crept up on her?

Her choice to run away had never really been there in the first place, but for a minute she let herself wonder what would have happened. For a moment, she told herself she could dream about it.

Staring up at the ceiling, she imagined what her life would be like if she had walked out the door into the empty hallway and beyond. She imagined everyone looking for her while she watched from the side streets as they slowly gave up. She imagined Dumbledore looking for her, and her escaping into the downtown streets of Muggle Egypt.

Years passed in her mind and things were normal. She was guilty from time to time, and then the beauty of Egypt would swallow her whole and things would be okay for a while.

She imagined hearing in the paper that Voldemort was back and destroying the United Kingdom. That Potter was on the run, and then he was captured, then he was dead and Voldemort's followers were spreading. In America, in Russia, everywhere. People were hiding, people were fighting, people were dying. Muggles, children, everyone who opposed him. And still, she stayed away, more out of guilt at leaving then at fear for her life.

She had done this. She had caused this. She had gone against her promise and the plan.

Marigold closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. She never should have allowed herself to think these things. It had just made everything worse.

Looking over at the yellow, unblinking eyes, Marigold promised herself, the universe, and the cat she didn't know, that this was the last time. That never again would she think of leaving, or what could have happened if she had escaped into Huna Wahunak. That she would no longer question Dumbledore, or the path ahead of her. After all, she had made her choice, even if it had never been there in the first place. She had stayed, and it had been the right choice.


End file.
